iSwitch Schools
by PD31
Summary: Marissa Benson has life-changing news for her 14-year-old son. Soon he'll be leaving his old life behind and starting over in a new city, making new friends – including a certain red-haired girl.
1. Prologue

**iSwitch Schools**

**Summary: **Marissa Benson has life-changing news for her 14-year-old son. Soon he'll be leaving his old life behind and starting over in a new city, making new friends – including a certain red-haired girl.

**AN: This story begins around the time of "iMight Switch Schools" so late Spring towards the end of iCarly Series 1; the Victorious gang (apart from the Vegas) will be starting Hollywood Arts in the new academic year.**

**Disclaimer:** I _still_ don't own Victorious, any of the episodes or any of the characters in either it or iCarly.

* * *

**Prologue **

"Freddie! FREDDIE!" Marissa Benson's voice loomed large through the door of apartment 8-C, Bushwell Plaza, Seattle, WA as she knocked on the door and called to her son. Freddie Benson was sat on the couch of his neighbour, Carly Shay, along with Carly and her best friend Sam Puckett. The trio had just finished shooting an episode of their webshow "iCarly" and were celebrating a successful show by tucking into a tray of Carly's favourite treat, red velvet cupcakes.

The 14-year-old boy sighed and got up from the couch; Carly watched him walk to the door through sympathetic eyes (she knew how over-protective the boy's mother was). Sam, meanwhile, made no effort to suppress her laughter; she never ceased to be amused or entertained at how domineering Mrs Benson was and was always delighted by the misery she caused Freddie. Carly shot her a reproving glance and the blonde reluctantly turned her gaze back to the tray of cupcakes.

"More for mama" she cried gleefully, selecting another treat, as Freddie opened the door to greet his mother.

"Come home now Freddie; I've got important news for you" and with that the pair left; Freddie gave a parting wave to Carly, eyeing her with a sad look. The brunette looked back at him with renewed sympathy in her expression; she had accepted – and liked – Freddie's crush on her (though she never returned his feelings) though part of her wished he would get over it on occasion.

The two Bensons crossed the narrow hallway to their own home, apartment 8-D, and Marissa removed her coat.

"Sit down Freddie" she instructed; her son complied. "I've been offered a new job, Head Nurse."

"That's great mom!" Freddie said brightly, knowing that a little more money would always help – as would more regular hours for his mother, instead of working as many nights as she had to.

"It is good news, I'm glad you agree. We move next week." She nonchalantly dropped the bombshell.

"Wait… what?" her son's voice raised an octave in confusion and comprehension.

"The new job, it's in Los Angeles" she explained with an air of "did I not mention that bit?" in her tone.

"But… b-but… what about school – and my friends, Carly?" he stammered.

"I've enrolled you at Northridge Middle for the last few weeks of term; there's a High School there too. You'll make new friends in no time." She pointedly ignored mention of the object of her son's affections, still believing she could keep him away from girls until at least his 30th birthday.

Freddie's face fell as he felt the bottom collapsing from his world. Marissa leaned over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's for the best Freddie; this is a great opportunity for me – we can start afresh, a new life."

"My life's here" he complained. "My friends, iCarly…"

"It's going to have to come to an end" she stated brusquely. "I know there'll be some difficulties for you leaving it behind Freddie but we're moving next week; that's the end of it."

He nodded in sad resignation. "I'd better start packing" he muttered and he went to his room, lay on his bed and closed his eyes, trying to keep his emotions in check.

* * *

Monday morning saw a still subdued Freddie arrive at Ridgeway Junior High School. He had avoided the girls over the weekend while he processed Friday night's cataclysmic news that his mother had given him. He reached his locker and began organising it, sorting the things he'd want to take with him and deciding what he'd just throw out when a voice behind him made his heart leap.

"Hey Freddie" the peppy voice of Carly Shay began. "What happened to you over the weekend, we didn't see you?"

"You could have called round" he half-joked, realising as he said it that it was true; he always went to Carly's, she never made the return trip.

"Wasn't your mom home a lot this weekend?" she pointed out. He shrugged and smirked slightly at her explanation. When he didn't break the silence she continued "So where were you?"

"I was home" He closed his locker and turned to face her. "Packing and deciding what I wanted to take with me."

"Oh, you guys are going on vacation when school ends? Where?" she asked brightly before her smile dropped a little. "How long are you gone for? We'll have to stop iCarly for those Fridays."

_Of course, iCarly_ the brown-eyed boy thought. _Is that all that matters to her? Will I __ever__ matter to her?_ He realised she was expectantly waiting for his answer so he sucked in a deep breath.

"We're not going on vacation; we're _going_… as in forever."

"What? Why?"

"My mom got a new job – Head Nurse at some hospital in LA. We leave next week."

"Next week? But you can't! What about school? What about iCarly?"

_And it's back to the show_ he sighed.

"I have to quit" he shrugged. "I have no choice. This week's show will be my last one. Maybe you could ask Shane or one of the other AV guys to take over?"

"Maybe" she said; there was an edge of sadness in her voice now that the initial shock had subsided.

"Excuse me… Carly Shay?" a voice behind the brunette asked; she turned to face the male owner, Freddie looked past her to the newcomer.

"Yes?" she confirmed.

"On behalf of Briarwood School this is an invitation for an interview with our Headmaster…"

* * *

The pair's news had not been well received by Sam; she was surprised, and rather hurt, that Carly had been offered an interview at a different school but she had not (the explanation that her problem was her poor grades and behaviour did little to improve her mood); her efforts to enlist Freddie to help put a stop to Carly's move failed when the boy explained that, as he was moving, he wouldn't be at school with Carly wherever she went and that he wouldn't sabotage her chances to go to a better school. The two had squabbled and argued but Freddie stood firm in his refusal.

Friday afternoon saw the end of Freddie's time at Ridgeway Junior High School; ten minutes from the end of last period he was called to Principal Franklin's office where the African-American shook his hand and wished him well for the future. The out-going iCarly tech producer then headed to his locker for the final time, unloaded it, took a final look around the halls of the school that had been such familiar territory for so long, slung his bag over his shoulder and walked out of the entrance as the final bell tolled. He greeted Carly's elder brother Spencer, who was driving the trio back to Bushwell Plaza that day, and sat in near-silence, muttering one-word answers when Spencer attempted to engage him in conversation. The tall artist gave up shortly before his sister and her best friend arrived at the SUV and got in.

"So dork, you're no longer a Ridgeway student" Sam began jovially. "We're finally rid of you."

Freddie pulled a face and mouthed an imitation of the blonde's taunt before turning away from her and gazing out of the window. This earned him a shove from his fellow side-kick, something he pointedly ignored. Sam turned to Carly with a quizzical look; the web star and soon-to-be Private School student looked between the pair and shrugged at her friend.

Spencer chatted to the girls on the journey across town; Freddie remained sullen and silent throughout; his only utterance was to thank Spencer for the ride when they pulled in to the apartment complex's parking lot. When the group arrived at the 8th floor he surprised the rest by entering his own home rather than the Shays', simply commenting that he'd be over in time for the show. The 14-year-old then unloaded his school supplies, repacking his bags ahead of their departure the next morning. Once he was finished, keeping one bag clear for the technical equipment he had in the iCarly studio and that he'd disassemble after tonight's show, he left the deserted apartment (his mom was finishing her final shift in Seattle) and entered Carly's home.

"Hey Freddie" Spencer greeted him brightly and cheerfully. "I'm making Spaghetti Tacos, you want some?"

"Sure" the teen forced a smile at his friend. He joined the two girls at the kitchen table just as the sculptor was placing the first serving on the table; Spencer hurriedly furnished him with a plate and a glass, into which Carly poured a generous helping of her infamous Special Lemonade.

The tech producer forced himself to join the conversation and fielded questions about his imminent departure, confirming that it was indeed the following morning that they'd be leaving.

"We'll miss you" the older man told him sincerely.

"Thanks Spence" he gave him a grateful smile before returning to his food. "It's gonna be strange not living across the hall from you guys" he noted.

The quartet finished their meals and Carly checked her watch. "Time for the show" she noted and the three teenagers made their way upstairs as Spencer cleared the table; he would head up later.

Freddie tapped away on his laptop, setting everything up for the webcast, gathered up his camera, trained it on the co-hosts and, with a slight lump in his throat counted down "In five, four, three, two…" before pointing at the girls.

* * *

"And finally we have an announcement to make" Carly began, her face turning serious after the amusing sketches they'd performed over the past half-hour. "Get out here Freddie."

"Switching to static camera" he confirmed, setting it down and tapping the requisite keys on his belt-mounted pad. He stood between the two girls.

"Freddie's mom got a new job so they're leaving Seattle – which means, sadly, this is his last iCarly as our tech producer."

"I am NOT sad about this" interjected Sam, earning her a reproachful look from Carly and a slack-jawed glare from Freddie.

"Anyway, we just wanted to let you know – and I wanted to publically wish Freddie well in the future. Good luck Freddie, I'm sure you'll do great." And she hugged him briefly; Freddie held on a second too long but released the brunette before she had to resort to flicking the back of his head again.

"Goodbye Freddie" Spencer said, entering the picture and shaking his hand warmly.

"Yeah, see ya nub" muttered Sam, briefly placing her hand on his back before quickly removing it.

"Thanks guys; it's been great being involved in iCarly – and thanks to all you guys, the fans of iCarly; you're all awesome and it's been great being a part of it."

"Alright, that's enough mushy stuff" the blonde piped up, giving him a not-too-gentle shove. "Back where you belong so we can wrap up." Freddie shot her a look but returned behind the camera, picked it up and turned it back to the two girls (Spencer made his way out of shot).

The girls signed off the show leading Freddie to tap a few buttons to shut down the stream before he announced "And we are clear." He set the camera back down and began disconnecting everything without further comment.

"You need help with any of that Freddo?" asked Spencer.

"Nah thanks, I'm good – just need to take it apart and I'll move it down in the elevator before taking it back to mine."

Carly bit her tongue; the brunette hadn't realised that, of course, Freddie's departure meant that he would be taking all his equipment with him. The glance she traded with Sam revealed the blonde hadn't considered this either. _Looks like we need a new tech guy soon_ crossed the hostesses' minds.

With his kit disassembled Freddie walked away from the tech cart and began a short tour of the studio; he paused briefly to rest his hand on props such as the car seat that Spencer had restored, smiling as he recalled Mandy the stalker who had sat there and the troubles they'd had in getting rid of her.

"You ok?" Carly's voice asked timidly as she saw his expression sadden again.

"Yeah; it's just… saying goodbye really."

"I know" she sympathised, pulling him into another hug, which he returned willingly but without the temptation to hold on forever. She released him and took a step back towards her brother and best friend. "We'll be downstairs when you're done" she told him. Freddie nodded.

With the rest of the group gone the brown-haired boy continued his goodbye to the studio at a leisurely pace; he allowed memories of bygone shows to flood back into his mind and a few tears to escape his eyes. Finally he was ready; he returned to the tech cart, made sure everything was ready to go and pushed it to the elevator. He took it down to the living area and pushed it across the hallway as Carly held her front door open. The brunette followed him into 8-D and gave him one last hug as he deposited the equipment in his room.

"I'll miss you Freddie" she whispered.

"I'll miss you too Carls" he replied. His mom arrived at this precise moment so he continued "I'll look in tomorrow morning just before we go and say goodbye, ok?"

The brunette web star nodded sadly and returned home.

"Are you all packed Freddie?" she asked, "we're leaving early tomorrow – you won't have time to pack in the morning if you want to say goodbye to your friends."

"Yes mom, I'm just about done" he confirmed. "Just my computer equipment that I just brought back from Carly's."

"Ok"

Freddie spent the next half-hour or so, while his mom ate and finished her own packing, to check on the schools she had found for him. He pulled a face as he read more and more about Northridge High and quickly began to look for other, more promising schools in the area. One in particular appealed to him as he read its website front page.

_Do you have a gift for performing? Can you make productions come to life? If so, this is the school for you. Singers, actors, dancers, special effects people – join us and make some magic. To arrange an audition contact Principal Eikner._

Freddie smiled; the school looked good from its website and, by checking the local county's education board website, he saw that its results were way better than those of Northridge. He scribbled down some of the information and fired off an e-mail to Mr Eikner before deciding that it might be best to inform of mother of the change of plans.

"Mom" Freddie began as he left his room and approached his mother in the kitchen of their apartment "I've been looking on-line and I don't think Northridge High sounds like a good enough school." He proceeded to explain all the things he had found on-line about its scores, the building, the area and gave a detailed account of why he shouldn't go there.

Marissa looked steadily at her son; her protective instincts demanded the best for him so she asked "Have you found somewhere better?"

"I have" he confirmed. "I just needed to set up an interview and… well; they call it an 'audition' really."

"What's the school" his mum enquired curiously.

"Hollywood Arts."

* * *

**AN: For those of you wondering why this is in the Victorious section, rather than the cross-overs, bear with me; it's more of a Victorious-plus-Freddie (and minus Tori, to begin with at least) rather than a true cross-over.**


	2. Chapter 1

Caterina Valentine sat nervously outside the Black Box theatre at Hollywood Arts High School as she awaited her turn to be called in for an audition. Her best friend, Jade West, had been accepted to the school the previous day and the red-haired 14-year-old was desperate to join her as a freshman at the Performing Arts school in the autumn. She thought of the song that she was going to sing and went over and over the lyrics in her head making sure she knew them; she knew she had to be note-perfect. She also planned to do a short acting soliloquy; again she went over the words time and again, making sure she knew them by heart.

Cat glanced to her left; her mother caught the teenager's apprehensive expression and gave her a smile that she hoped would be warm and encouraging; the red-head meekly tried to return it before breaking eye contact and looking around the waiting area before her gaze finally rested on the brown-haired boy sat on her right. She noted that he looked equally nervous, not to mention cute, his brow furrowed in confrontation, and she thought he looked familiar somehow but shrugged it off. The boy caught her stealing a look and she smiled guiltily; he returned the smile with a genuine one of his own before his attention was drawn to her vivid hair.

"Hello" he said shyly, not quite meeting her eyes. He was used to looking at pretty girls from his time hanging with Carly and Sam but with this new girl he'd only just met he wasn't quite sure where to look.

"Hey" she returned pleasantly, flashing a smile and a set of pearly white teeth at him.

"Nice hair colour" he commented with an amused grin before looking away in embarrassment as the woman sat next to him, who Cat assumed to be his mother, frowned towards the pair. Mrs Benson had only just managed to get her boy away from that Carly Shay; she was hoping that there wouldn't be another girl fluttering her eyes at Freddie this soon.

"Thanks" Her nerves were dissipating slightly as they struck up a conversation. "I love red velvet cupcakes so I made my hair the colour of them." She then began to giggle and simper as she took a few strands between her fingers and shook them in his direction. Freddie briefly wore a bewildered expression before he looked off into space. Feeling concern at his change in expression Cat placed a hand gently on his shoulder.

"Carly loved red velvet cupcakes" he muttered wistfully, not turning to look at the girl. A small gasp from Cat drew his attention and he finally turned to meet her eyes.

"You're Freddie from iCarly!" she struggled to keep her voice down and the excitement from it. "I thought I recognised you! My name's Cat; I'm here because I hope to become a singer one day" she gabbled.

"I really hope I get in; I want to learn more about the production and effects side of things and maybe do a little more acting" Freddie explained.

"I thought your show was great so I think, and I hope, that the production part should be fine for you" she tried to reassure him; he was grateful for her confidence in his work. "I don't remember seeing you in front of the camera that often though" and she frowned a little.

"No, Carly and Sam didn't used to let me spent much time on camera" and there was a little bitterness in his voice. "But that's kinda what I mean; hopefully I'll get some opportunities to learn to act and do a decent enough job of it to not humiliate myself."

Cat opened her mouth to tell him he'd be fine but before she could the door opened and the latest prospective student walked out shaking slightly. The teens' eyes met in nervy questioning before a man Freddie recognised as Principal Eikner looked around the door and called

"Caterina Valentine please."

Cat leapt to her feet as Freddie mouthed "Good Luck" to her, she grinned back apprehensively.

"Could you wait through there please?" Mr Eikner asked Mrs Valentine, nodding to where the previous candidate had gone. Cat's mother left, smiling slightly to her daughter's new friend as she did and leaving just Freddie and his mom alone in the waiting area, a nervous gnawing feeling growing in the younger Benson's stomach.

Cat stood in front of a row of desks, behind which sat what she assumed was the judging panel, a balding teacher on its left, a gap in the centre that Mr Eikner was to fill and a darker-skinned, younger man on the right.

"Caterina" Mr Eikner began, "this is our acting teacher, Erwin Sikowitz" he gestured to the balding teacher on his right (her left) "and our school Guidance Counsellor Lane Alexander" he gestured to the others. Cat smiled weakly at the trio. "Don't be nervous; we want you to do well" the Principal continued as he smiled at the teenage girl. She nodded and tried to smile herself; her nerves, though, were still evident. "Now, what are you going to show us?" he asked, settling back in his chair.

"I'm going to sing and also do a little acting" she told them, noticing Sikowitz sit up a little at the mention of acting.

"Ok, in your own time" Mr Eikner invited her to begin.

* * *

Back in the waiting area Freddie got up and began pacing the room; he was nervous not just for himself but for the red-haired girl he had just met. She seemed nice, she was very pretty and he really hoped that she did well enough to be accepted to the school. He knew how much it meant to _him_ to get into Hollywood Arts; with her dreams of being a singer he know it must mean as much if not more to her. Eventually Marissa tired of his actions and snapped at her son to sit down; he did with a muttered apology.

Cat reached the end of her song ("You Haven't Seen The Best Of Me"); she felt, contrary to the title, that she'd hit all the notes and got the song pretty much perfect so she chanced a look at the men who held her fate in their hands. Their looks were impassive, as Jade had told her they would be, so she didn't ask what they thought; instead she merely informed them that she'd do her quick sketch. The red-head closed her eyes, allowed the lines to flood forward from the back of her mind and began, determined to make this part two of the performance of her life.

Finally the moment of truth arrived as Cat emerged, winking shyly at Freddie as she headed off to meet her mother and Mr Eikner called "Fredward Benson?" while looking at Freddie. As he was the only interviewee left in the room it was a fairly safe bet. The principal directed Marissa to the next room and followed Freddie into the Black Box theatre where yet again he introduced his colleagues to a nervous teen.

"So Freddie" he began, "what makes you think you have what it takes to come to school here?"

"Well sir" the brown-haired 14-year-old began, nerves dripping from his voice, "I've been working as tech producer on a webshow for the past year and I think I'm good at it. I do it all myself, the lighting, the cameras, microphones, special effects; I may not be the star of iCarly but I think I'm at least as responsible as the girls for bringing it to life."

Mr Eikner's face betrayed no emotion as he responded. "Yes; I saw your e-mail and you mentioned in it that you're Freddie from iCarly so I watched the previous shows archived on your website."

"We all did" interjected Sikowitz; his boss sat back to allow the teacher to continue. "Some very good work, particularly the green screen. That's quite impressive for someone of your age to work."

"Who _was_ the awful musician on that show?" Lane asked curiously.

"Oh" Freddie chuckled at the memory. "That was our English teacher, Miss Briggs."

"Well I assure you _she_ would never get through the front door here" the Principal picked up. "I don't share Lane's opinion that you can actually describe her as a musician."

Freddie grinned at the description of the mean Ridgeway teacher while Lane spoke up defensively. "I meant musician in the loosest sense of the word" the guidance counsellor attempted to clarify.

"Do you have much acting experience Freddie?" Sikowitz enquired, arms folded over his chest.

"A little; not as much as I'd like. If I'm accepted here it is definitely something I want to pursue."

Sikowitz rose, picked up a leaf of paper from the desk and handed it to the boy. "Here's a scene for two parts; you're playing them both." And with that he returned to his seat as Freddie scanned the page with a look of abject horror. He swallowed down his nerves, looked to the expectant panel and recited the page, looking to the notes as seldom as possible and trying to use two different voices for the two characters.

"Thank you Freddie, you may wait with the others" Mr Eikner told him as the teen finished his scene; beads of sweat were occupying his forehead.

The youngster thanked the men and left the theatre, wiping his brow and breathing deeply as he did.

* * *

As she saw her brown-haired new friend enter the room Cat swooped down on him.

"How did it go?" she asked excitedly.

"I'm not sure" he said, his shoulders slumping a little. "I went over the iCarly stuff and they seemed impressed by it but then the bald guy pulled out this two person drama for me to do when I said I wanted to act a little more. I'm scared that I went to pieces over it."

She gave him a sympathetic look before he remembered his manners and asked her "How was your audition?"

"I think it went well" she said. "I was in tune at least for the song and I remembered all the lines for my little act… it's up to them now."

Five nervy minutes later the Hollywood Arts principal walked into the room flanked by his colleagues.

"Ok" Mr Eikner began "Eli, Caterina and Fredward… we would like to see you and your parents back in the Black Box for a moment."

The teens exchanged glances and looked to the dark haired boy getting to his feet from across the room, along with someone whom they assumed was his father. The six followed the Hollywood Arts staff back into the theatre and stood fearfully in front of the panel.

"Congratulations" Mr Eikner began without preamble. "You have been accepted into our school."

Cat could barely suppress a high pitched squeal as she embraced Freddie in a quick hug before the two looked away from one another in embarrassment. Freddie offered his hand to Eli, who shook it enthusiastically, before hugging a sobbing Marissa. Cat and Eli also hugged one another before celebrating with their respective parents.

"You will receive a pack through the mail" Mr Eikner continued when order was restored "detailing term dates and anything you require. I will inform you now that all Hollywood Arts students are required to play an instrument, so those of you who don't already play one" he glanced from Cat to Freddie "will need to pick one and start learning." The teens nodded, confirming understanding at their new principal. "Freddie" the Principal beckoned him over "Your tech skills are excellent and the acting, to say it was sprung upon you, was pretty good."

"Yes, you have talent" agreed Sikowitz. "It's up to me now to get the best out of you over the next four years."

Freddie thanked them and withdrew as they summoned Cat over. The teachers enthused over her acting and singing capabilities and again pledged to bring out the best in her.

"I'm hungry" Freddie commented as he, Marissa and the Valentines left Hollywood Arts together. "Can we go for a burger mom?"

Marissa blanched slightly; she didn't approve of fast food in the slightest but, to celebrate her son's achievements, she decided that a one-off couldn't hurt too much. "Ok then" she relented "but I'm not sure what's around here."

"There's a place just down the road" Cat volunteered.

"We were headed there if you'd like to join us" Mrs Valentine offered graciously. The Bensons smiled and accepted, Freddie out of wanting to spend more time with Cat, Marissa out of politeness.

The quartet reached the restaurant and was seated; the parents exchanged civil small talk while Cat and Freddie began to get to know one another a little better. Cat knew Freddie from iCarly but he was able to fill in a lot more detail about his life (though he refrained from mentioning Carly or Sam too much) and interests, such as his recently discovered aptitude for fencing. The pair continued to chat throughout dinner and finally traded webchat IDs with a promise to talk, and perhaps meet up, over the summer.

"That's a great idea" Mrs Valentine observed, suddenly joining the conversation. "You guys just moved here so you won't know anyone. Maybe, Cat, you and Jade can show him around the area and make sure he doesn't get too lonely over the summer?"

"I'd love to!" smiled Cat, keen to get to know the boy she was beginning to think of as "her cute friend" a little better. "We can make lists of places we want to go to and see how many we get to this summer!"

"I'd like that" Freddie told her with sincerity. Again Marissa looked a little unsure at the prospect of Freddie spending a lot of time with girls but had to concede it was better than him being alone all summer. However the Bensons needed to get home, she had an evening shift at work to make up for being at his audition with him today, so they said goodbye to the Valentines and left, Freddie and Cat promising to talk soon.


	3. Chapter 2

**AN: Hello and welcome to the latest chapter of iSwitch Schools; I hope you all enjoy it. My thanks to all who have read, and especially reviewed, so far.**

**BushwellNYC, Challenge King, KoalaBear95; I'm glad you like it so far.  
**

**Agent-M-0167 - thanks for your feedback, I certainly intend for Freddie to turn out differently to the way he did in series 2 (and beyond) on iCarly.  
**

* * *

Freddie groaned and looked around his bedroom; he had just been woken by his mother closing and locking the front door of their Northridge apartment as she left for work. The brown-haired teen glanced at the clock on his bed-side table; 6:57. He sighed and closed his eyes again, a small smile playing across his face as he reminded himself that it was Wednesday and he was meeting Cat today and she was taking him sight-seeing this morning. The next thing he knew his alarm was bringing him to his senses at 7:30; he groaned again but this time struggled out of bed, selected some khaki shorts, underwear and a striped T-shirt and then headed for a shower.

The cascading water began to revive him and he sang quietly to himself as he shampooed his hair (grateful that he no longer had to sign an agreement with his mother that he'd actually done so). He rinsed off the residual shampoo and shower gel before stepping out, drying and dressing himself. Arriving in the kitchen he checked the time again; almost 8. The boy retrieved some milk from the fridge and added some to a bowl of cereal. Breakfast consumed he returned to the bathroom, cleaned his teeth and sat, phone in hand, waiting for his new friend to call.

"Hi Freddie!" the bubbly read-head's excited voice cried when she phoned a few moments later. "Are you ready to go?"

"I am" he confirmed. "Where should I meet you?"

"Can you meet us on the corner of Fountain and Vine in about half an hour?"

"Sure thing, I'll be there." Freddie rang off, wondering as he did who the 'us' he'd be meeting was. _Just my luck_ he mused_ if another cute girl I meet already has a boyfriend_.

Freddie muttered to himself as the bus plodded along the LA streets; he was worried that he was going to be late. Finally he reached his stop, about a block from where he was due to meet Cat, and as he looked over he could see her tell-tale hair and bare legs; he assumed she wore shorts but if she did they did not extend beyond the untucked yellow T-shirt she wore. Stood next to her, he smiled as he took in the sight, wasn't a guy but a girl, a very _hot_ girl he mused, with hair a little lighter than his own; she was dressed entirely in black. As he approached the pair he noticed some dark blue and green streaks in it. As he reached the girls he could see Cat's bubbly smile was not matched by her companion; she seemed to be trying to keep a scowl off her face at the red-head's incessant chatter.

"Hi Freddie!" she cried again, pulling him into a very quick hug.

"Hey Cat" he returned before looking to the brunette. "Hello, as you probably heard, I'm Freddie" he told her with a slightly nervous smile at her sour expression.

"I'm Jade" she said tersely.

"Cat mentioned you" he noted thoughtfully "you'll be going to Hollywood Arts too right?"

"Of course" she confirmed brusquely.

"Jade can be a little… mean sometimes" Cat supplied, a slight sadness lacing her voice. Freddie looked between the two girls; Jade's expression was completely impassive at hearing what her companion had to say.

"So, what do you want to show me today?" he asked brightly, smiling at the girls.

"Well" began the red-head "I thought we'd start with a bus tour; you get to listen to some of the stories behind the Hollywood area and see some of the celebrities' houses as we go around. That would give you an idea about what there is around Hollywood. We can go to other parts of LA later on in the summer; we still have a few weeks." She smiled at him and he returned it as he contemplated the prospect of a few weeks spent hanging with Cat, and perhaps Jade. Freddie was, of course, no stranger to hanging with girls after spending time with Carly and Sam over the years. He did, however, begin to wish again that he had some guy friends (Cat had mentioned a brother but the stories she'd told made Freddie suspect he wasn't someone that he could really spend time with). He hoped to make some new guy friends once school started.

Agreeing that the narrated bus tour sounded the ideal way to get his bearings about his new home Freddie followed the girls to one of the road-side kiosks where they bought tickets before finding the closest stop. The trio spent a pleasant morning on the bus; of course Cat and Jade already knew most of the stories but Cat listened attentively, Jade put on something more of a bored expression, as the bus meandered around Hollywood's streets. As it passed close to Griffith Park a large structure caught the brown-eyed boy's attention.

"What's that?" he asked his friend.

"Oh that's Griffith Observatory" Cat supplied. Seeing Freddie's smile broaden and his attention turn back to the structure she continued "You wanna go there?"

"I'd love to" he confirmed.

"Maybe this afternoon then" the red-head suggested. "You wanna come too Jade?"

"No" The brunette's reply was blunt and simple.

"Just us then" Freddie smiled lightly at Cat. She giggled back.

The bus returned to the stop where they had boarded and the three disembarked. Jade was demanding coffee so they walked to the nearest café. Cat and Freddie ordered smoothies and they spent half an hour or so talking about some of the other places they wanted Freddie to see (as Jade was with them they decided to see the Observatory the following day, along with a number of other places Jade had no desire to see. In truth Cat wasn't too eager to see some of them either but wanted to show Freddie his new home and spend time with him). They spent the afternoon in the Natural History Museum, another place Freddie enjoyed but one Jade could at least tolerate and, before they parted company for the day, made plans to go to Venice Beach on the Friday. The younger Benson grinned at how his mother would react to him spending a day at a beach with two very attractive girls and decided it might be best to just not mention it to her for now.

Finally they returned to where they had met up; Freddie said goodbye to the girls and headed for the bus stop while they made the short walk back to their respective homes.

As the young man walked away from the two girls Cat turned to her friend and, in a low voice, commented "I told you he was adorable" and she started giggling again.

Jade allowed her friend a slight smile and shook her head.

* * *

Freddie lay on his bed, his laptop on his chest. He was watching the first iCarly of the "post-Freddie" era wondering how they would get on without him. He hadn't been on the site at all before in the week and a half that he'd been in LA; he was a little hurt to see that they hadn't missed a beat – the first show without him had been just a week after he had said his goodbyes.

The first thing the 14-year-old noticed was that the picture quality seemed poorer than usual; he mused that his replacement was using inferior equipment to his own.

"Hello" began Carly. "Welcome to the new – "

" – and very much improved" interjected Sam, earning a shake of the head from Carly (though, Freddie noted ruefully, the brunette's smile remained in place)

"iCarly!" the girls declared in unison before introducing Shane as their new tech producer. To his mild frustration and chagrin Freddie noticed that the two, Sam in particular, treated Shane with far more respect than they ever had him. He also noted that tell-tale look in Carly's eyes as she smiled not at the camera but at the guy behind the camera. _The expression she never had for me _he thought sadly as he continued to watch the girls, realising as he did that Sam wore the exact same look. The blonde was polite and, if he didn't know better, he'd say she was flirting slightly with the cameraman as she addressed him. He sighed in defeat as he wondered _What's so bad about me that girls just don't want to know?_ These thoughts brought him to his red-haired friend; she's definitely cute, he mused and he allowed a little crush to continue to blossom inside of him, will she be just the same as Carly? She'll say we can be friends but nothing more? The thought further flattened his mood.

Not bothering with the rest of the webcast he closed the site and his laptop, which he set down on his desk before he lay back on his bed. He had thought about video-chatting with Carly to catch up on how her summer was going; seeing how little she seemed to be missing him made him change his mind. He allowed his thoughts to turn back to the giddy girl with red velvet hair and smiled again as he closed his eyes.

* * *

The morning saw him in better spirits; he was looking forward to spending more time with Cat. The pair met at the LA zoo; Cat wanted to start there to "look at all the pretty animals". Freddie noticed her have a particular obsession for the giraffes in the park so he went to one of the gift shops and bought her a small, plush giraffe (a small one was all he could afford on his limited allowance; he didn't want to spend too much of the money he had left from the Daka Shoes settlement if he may need it for college later on) to say thank you for her showing him around. She gave him a grateful smile and giggle in response. They left the zoo after about an hour and a half and took a short walk across Griffith Park to the Observatory; Freddie spent a fun couple of hours walking around it. Cat felt a little lost in parts but he was happy to try to explain the different constellations and types of stars to her. Soon the red-head found herself appreciating it _almost_ as much as he did.

After the success of the Observatory the pair made their way to the California Science Center; Cat spent her time standing _very _close to Freddie though, as much as she wanted to, she lacked the nerve to take hold of his arm. For his part he kept casting sidelong glances to her when she wasn't looking and wishing he had the bravery to take her hand but, having been shot down so often by Carly, he couldn't bear the thought that the dream of Cat responding to his crush could come to an end just yet. They started with Air and Space, building on the fun they'd had at the Observatory. The interactive exhibits appealed to Cat; Freddie noticed she had more fun with the hands-on pieces meant for younger children but he smiled when he saw how much she was enjoying herself with the telescopes while he read about the prospective missions to other planets. From there the pair moved on to exhibits like the World of Life and Ecosystems. Again he buried himself in the more 'high-brow' areas while she headed for the Discovery Rooms. Both enjoyed the high wire bicycle ride over the Science Court before touring the Creative World; Freddie was in his element here and enjoyed talking Cat through the different structures and particularly the Communication methods. She seemed genuinely interested (particularly where the technology, such as A/V, could be applied to future school-work (she had read about the tech theatre classes, camera work and other aspects that she knew little about; secretly the girl hoped to spend enough time with Freddie to learn from him). A few hours later they again left an attraction smiling together and in high spirits.

"I loved it!" the red-headed girl enthused. "I never knew all those things about science and about the stars; it was really interesting – and fun" she laughed.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it" he replied sincerely, smiling directly at her as he did. She met his eyes shyly and returned the smile before quickly looking away and leading him towards their next location.

The next place on Freddie's list was the Angel's Flight Railway. His burgeoning passion for model trains drew him to the place; this time Cat really couldn't take – or even fake – an interest. She stood close to her friend but wore a bored expression while he admired the trains. Sensing her tedium he respectfully cut short the visit, making a mental note to return on his own some time to fully appreciate it.

As they were already downtown Cat took him to the LA Performing Arts Centre for a self-guided tour. Looking around the area Freddie was a little awe struck by its majesty. "One day I want to be singing and acting on that stage" his friend whispered.

"I'm sure you will" he assured her. Looking around the place he wondered whether his acting skills would ever reach the point where he could appear here himself.

"Are you hungry?" she asked as they were leaving.

"Uh, a little" he admitted.

"Great, let's go get Chinese" and she pulled out her phone. "Jade? Hi, yeah I'm with Freddie; we're going to a Chinese place. Wanna meet us there? 'Kay 'kay, see you soon. " She smiled at him. "Jade will meet us there in a few minutes" and she led the way to the restaurant, gabbling as they walked about all the wonderful things they'd seen that morning.

Lunch was an enjoyable affair; Jade was her usual self, talking civilly to them both but still rather impatient when the conversation didn't interest her (such as when the others went back to discussing their trips from the morning).

After they'd eaten Jade left them again and they went back to Cat's place to hang out for a little while; her mother was home so they spent the afternoon in the living area of the Valentine house telling her about all the things they'd done and seen and of their plans to go to the beach the next day. Cat asked her mother if she had a timetable for the buses to get them there and back; Mrs Valentine smiled at her daughter and handed her the information she needed. Cat called Jade and set the time for the three to meet.

The trip to the beach was uneventful; Freddie met the girls when and where they'd arranged and they chatted amiably as they travelled; Jade and Cat sat next to one another with Freddie in the seat behind; he was slightly uncomfortable at the unobstructed view of Cat's slender legs that her short shorts were giving him (Jade was covered up in a thin black shirt and pants). He wore his khaki shorts again and the "I heart LA" shirt Spencer had bought him as a leaving present, feeling that he should play the stereotypical tourist until he got fully settled into life as an Angelino. On arrival Cat practically skipped from the bus and removed her sandals as she reached the sand of the beach.

"I love the beach" she shouted happily. Freddie smiled at her enthusiasm; Jade frowned slightly next to his shoulder.

"Oh c'mon" he told the gothic girl "She's happy. Let her enjoy it." Jade shrugged and followed him a pace behind as he caught up with the sweet-natured red-haired girl.

The trio selected a quiet spot (Jade in particular wanted to be far away from too many people) and placed beach towels on the sand. The girls stretched back, Cat had removed her shirt to reveal a red bikini top so she could soak up the sun while Jade sat quietly reading under a broad-brimmed hat, relaxing in the sun while Freddie went to get ice creams for them all. He joined them again on the sand and they tucked into their treats with gusto (Jade a little less so) before Freddie decided to go for a swim. Cat went with him and had a marvellous time splashing in the sea; Freddie stood in the water a few yards from her and watched her excited antics with a smile.

Tiring of the water the former tech producer returned to where Jade sat, smiling softly at her friend still splashing around in the Pacific Ocean. He towelled himself dry and pulled his shirt back on, informing the brunette of his plans to walk the streets nearby and "see what's around". He spent the next half-hour strolling around the Venice Beach area investigating the wares of the various venders. He bought a nice little bracelet from one of them that he thought his mother would like (and he hoped it would placate her when he broke the news that he had been at the beach all day with two attractive girls). He had just finished paying for it when a voice just behind him made him jump slightly.

"Hi!"

"Oh hey Cat" he turned and smiled at her. "I thought you were still swimming."

"I just came to see what you were looking at"

"Just getting a little gift for my mom" He held the trinket up and she clapped her hands in delight.

"Oh that's so cute Freddie, she'll love it."

"I hope so"

The two friends walked around the remainder of the area chatting idly as they did, admiring some of the items on display. Finally they were done and returned to the sands and sat back down next to Jade. Cat was quick to enthuse about Freddie's present for his mother and, despite the brunette's lack of interest, insisted Freddie show it to her.

"Lovely" she said in a thoroughly unconvincing tone. Freddie shot her a grin to acknowledge her lack of interest and she returned it.

The day was beginning to cool down and other visitors started to head for home when the three teens decided it was time to leave; Freddie wanted to get home before his mother's shift finished and she panicked about his not being there so they boarded the first bus back to the city.

"You want to hang at mine for a bit?" he asked the girls.

"Sure" Cat agreed. Jade made no comment but followed the pair to the stop for Freddie's bus.

The first thing that struck Cat on arrival at the Benson home was the amount of tech equipment around; the living area was spotless but some of Freddie's stuff was neatly placed on shelves there. She was admiring it and asked him questions about it all, listening as he enthused about cameras and special effects, trying to soak up as much as she could that would eventually help with Tech Theatre. Jade, meanwhile, looked thoroughly disinterested at what she dubbed "nerd babble". Just as Freddie was building up a head of steam with his explanations Marissa arrived home, unable to hide her surprise at seeing two teenage girls in her living room.

"Oh hey mom, how was work?" her son enquired.

"Good thanks, hello Cat" she returned coolly before looking at Jade. "Who's your other friend Freddie?"

"This is Jade; she's Cat's best friend."

"Hello then Jade"

"Hi Mrs Benson"

"Will the girls be staying for dinner?" she asked in a tone that pleaded with them to say no. Cat missed the tone but Jade did not.

"Actually, we have to get going" she began, cutting Cat off. "We'll see you later Freddie."

"Bye girls" he said, walking them to the door. "See you next week?" he asked the red-head.

"Sure" she agreed with a giggle. "Bye Freddie" and they departed.

"Oh Freddie" Marissa commented idly over dinner. "I think I've found a place for us; it's a bit nearer to your school and to my work. Our lease here has another two months to run but I've put an offer in; if they accept it we should be in before school starts."

"Sounds great" he smiled, thinking being nearer to school – and Cat – sounded like a good idea to him.


	4. Chapter 3

**AN: Hello to all my readers. Thanks are due, again, to all of you for reading and especially for those who have reviewed.**

**Goldy18 – the rest of the gang (minus the Vegas) will be showing up now that they're starting school.**

**Agent-M-0167 – yes there's a burgeoning Freddie/Cat though there's plenty of scope for… complications.**

**Rihann – I would certainly encourage you to watch Victorious; it's an amazing show and I am stunned at Nick's stupidity in cancelling it.**

* * *

It had been a long, hot and thoroughly enjoyable summer but the day had finally arrived; Freddie and Cat's first day as Hollywood Arts students. The former iCarly tech producer woke early, showered and dressed in dark blue jeans and with a dark blue T-shirt under one of his grey shirts, which he wore unbuttoned, before joining his mother in the kitchen for a quick breakfast. The Bensons left their new home (having moved in a week earlier) and Marissa drove her son to school on her way to work; he was a little early but sat in an outdoor area called the "Asphalt Café" while he watched a number of other, older students arrive and greet their friends. Even some of those who looked about his age seemed to have their own established friendship groups; he realised many of his peers would, like Cat and Jade, already know one another from Middle School. Just as his nervousness and anxiety about fitting in at the new school began to bubble to the surface he saw, out of the corner of his eye, someone take a seat at the same table as him; he turned and recognised Eli from his audition day.

"Hey" his sandy-haired classmate greeted with a smile.

"Hey" Freddie returned with a smile of his own "finally someone I recognise."

The boys shared a laugh before Eli commented

"I know; none of my friends are going here so it's gonna be tough for me too. It's gotta be as bad if not worse for you seeing as you've come from a different state." Seeing Freddie's eyebrows raise slightly at the comment he elaborated "I watch iCarly; it's not as good now you're not there."

Freddie sniggered slightly but signalled his gratitude for his peer's feedback and support. The two then spent a little time getting to know one another before a typically bubbly and excited Cat bounced to the table to join them, dressed in a baby-pink T-shirt and very short denim shorts that cause Freddie's eyes to rake up and down her slender legs. A far less enthusiastic Jade, dressed entirely in black, followed a few paces behind.

"Hi guys, can you believe we're actually here?"

"Hey Cat, good to see you" Freddie greeted her warmly. "Jade" he nodded to the sullen brunette.

"Hello" she shot back. Eli, who hadn't met her before, recoiled slightly and cast a wary look in her direction before lowering his gaze as she frowned at him.

Any further awkwardness was curtailed by the tolls of the bell. Seeing the elder students begin to file inside Freddie motioned towards the door. "I guess we should head in"

Cat nodded, giggling excitedly as she got up and led the quartet inside.

* * *

The new students were directed to the Black Box theatre where Principal Eikner formally welcomed them to the school. Timetables were distributed and the freshman class were sent on their way. Freddie and Eli compared theirs and noted that both had Sikowitz's class first up; a quick discussion with Cat and Jade confirmed that they were also in the balding teacher's lesson.

"Welcome, freshmen, to your first" Sikowitz slapped his thighs for dramatic effect "acting class" he announced to the assembled group. "Well let's get right to it. Public Speaking is the key to acting; if you can't speak in front of an audience then you can't perform. So" and he leaned closer to the class with a smile on his face "every one of you will take it in turns to come up here and introduce yourselves to the class; just a few words, we don't need long speeches just yet." He then took a seat at the back of the room and the class looked from one to another, not quite sure whether they were meant to start or not.

Just as the tension was beginning to rise and the embarrassment of the class as a whole increase, a long-haired, tall young man stood up and climbed onto the stage. He turned to his classmates and began

"My name's Beck Oliver, I live in an RV in my parents' driveway and I'm here to become an actor." He glanced to Sikowitz; when the teacher made no comment Beck shrugged, stepped down and returned to his seat.

Emboldened by Beck's example Freddie was the next to rise, noting as he did that one or two others had made slight moves to get up. He followed Beck's lead by climbing up onto the stage and turned to face the class.

"I'm Freddie Benson, I'm originally from Seattle. I used to produce a webshow called iCarly; I also act a little and it's something, along with the special effects, that I want to learn more about, and have more opportunity to do, while I'm here."

As he stepped down Freddie could see the expressions on his classmates' faces as they comprehended who he was. He smiled slightly to himself as he settled down, feeling that being a celebrity, no matter how minor, could well have its upside when it came to fitting in to a new group.

Next up was a youngster with curly hair, glasses and holding a puppet. Freddie looked to his right; he traded looks of bemusement with Jade (who looked to have little patience for the guy) while Cat was giggling at the 'double-act' _Great_ Freddie thought _Another girl who's gonna notice every boy except me_ and he dropped his head sadly.

"I'm Robbie" The boy on stage announced; Freddie turned his attention to him. "_I'm Rex_" the puppet 'added'.

"I'm an actor" "_Who can't act_" "Rex!" he whispered before persevering "and a comedian" "_Whose jokes stink_" "And a singer" "_Who's tone-deaf_"

By this point Cat was laughing and simpering at the sight of Robbie looking daggers at his puppet as he returned to his seat; Jade looked far less amused but rose from her chair to take her turn.

"I'm Jade West; I'm a singer and an actress and most of you should stay out of my way" though she did smile at Beck as she stepped down from the stage. Freddie glanced over and noticed that the Canadian-born student was smiling back at her. _Why is it never that easy for me_ he mused sadly, particularly hearing Cat continuing to giggle sweetly and softly next to him. The girl with red velvet hair replaced Jade on stage, composing herself with a couple of deep breaths before she told her peers

"I'm Cat Valentine. I sing and act as well." She flashed a quick, shy smile towards Freddie, which cheered him up immensely, before skipping back to her seat between him and Jade.

The next student caught his attention. _Harper?_ he thought; the guy on stage bore a striking resemblance to the musician they had befriended during the ill-fated experiment to turn iCarly into a TV show.

"I'm André Harris" _Clearly not then_ "and I'm a musician. I also sing a little" he concluded with a modest shrug.

The rest of the class, including Eli, introduced themselves in similar veins before Sikowitz returned to the front as the last child sat down.

"Excellent" he declared with delight. "Now that wasn't so hard was it? At least once Beck got you all started" and he smiled at the long-haired teen who returned the look with a confident one of his own. "I've had some classes sit in silence for fully 10 minutes before I have to start sending people up there and I can tell right then and there that none of them will succeed; as I said, if you don't have the guts to stand in front of this little group then you'll never make it in this industry. Now, to business." He clapped his hands and began the lesson.

* * *

"Hey André" Freddie greeted the musician as he reached the table where his fellow student was eating his lunch. Gesturing with his own meal to an empty seat he asked "May I?"

"Sure Freddie" André nodded and the tech producer smiled gratefully as he sat down.

"Are you related to a guy called Harper?" Freddie asked curiously.

"No" his classmate responded in mild confusion. "Why?"

"He briefly worked with us on iCarly; you two look alike" Freddie shrugged "Must just be coincidence."

The musician laughed slightly before turning back to his lunch.

"Could you help me learn an instrument?" Freddie asked suddenly. "You know how we all need to play an instrument while we're here; I'm not all that musical and it seems to be your specialty. Could I maybe have a couple of lessons?"

"Sure, so long as you help me when I have to sit in tech classes" André smiled.

"Deal" the shorter teen laughed.

* * *

The bell rang to signal the end of Freddie and Cat's first day at their new school; the red-haired girl invited Freddie to go for a smoothie with her and some of the others (including Jade, Beck, André and Robbie) but Freddie noted that his mother had only given him enough money to get the bus hone so he, regretfully, declined. Cat nodded sadly and they went their separate ways, both teens feeling decidedly (albeit privately) downcast at their parting.

Freddie arrived back in his new home; he still had some unpacking of his stuff to do and a number of things had been placed in corners or closets that he still needed to find. He was alone so, after spending some time organising his room, he decided to cheer himself up (after missing out on the smoothie and spending more time with Cat) by loading up his laptop and spending some mindless time on-line.

To his immense surprise, no sooner had he logged on than he had a chat request – from Carly Shay.

"Freddie!" the brunette began, smiling at him. "It's been a while; I've not heard from you since you left."

"Hey Carls, how's the new school?" He hoped to deflect her observation. It worked, albeit temporarily as she responded

"Well I've only been there one day but it was really good thanks, though it's a whole new experience for me. The school building's old-fashioned but they're really up with modern technology; you'd LOVE the science and computer labs, although we've got a really janky uniform that we have to wear" she gestured to the clothes hung behind her. "It's just totally different to Ridgeway. Speaking of totally different to Ridgeway… how's your new school?"

"Awesome" he replied enthusiastically. "And it is _completely different_; there's acting classes, tech, directing, costumes, make-up… not at all like most schools."

"Sounds like fun" the brunette observed before looking back at her friend. "You sound a little different Freddie."

"Yeah, that's what puberty does to a guy" he noted with a laugh. "So how's Sam coping without you?"

"We're… not seeing eye-to-eye at the moment" she admitted. "We fought a bit over the summer and now we're at different schools…" she trailed off.

"What did you fight about?" he enquired curiously.

"Shane – and which of us should date him."

"Oh" Freddie stated flatly as he fought the urge to roll his eyes – of course girls would be fighting over any guy who wasn't him.

"Yeah" Carly's tone was equally flat. "So what about you, any girls catch your eye yet?"

"Just one so far" he responded calmly, though excitement and anticipation crept gradually into his tone and his eyes lit up involuntarily as he continued "Her name's Cat, I met her when we auditioned, we hung out a lot over the summer and we're in most of our classes together."

"Oh" the brunette's face fell a little at the news and the excited look he was unable to hide "so are you two dating?"

"No, we're just friends. I really like her though; I just don't want to blow it before it starts."

"Well I'll let you get back to whatever you were doing" the brunette's features were darkening by the second "I just wanted to say hi since I'd not seen you all summer" and she clicked off without another word.

"Something I said?" Freddie muttered at the blank screen. He shrugged and glanced to the equipment bag on top of his closet before he began looking for the best way to get to the Swordplay Fencing Studio.

* * *

A surprise waited for the freshman class when they arrived in Sikowitz's classroom; they would be splitting into small groups to perform something the balding teacher called "The Bird Scene". The teenagers traded concerned looks at the thought of having to put on a performance so early into their Hollywood Arts careers. Their surprise increased when the acting teacher handed scripts to Freddie, Cat and Jade before telling the trio that they would be performing in front of the 10th grade class the next day rather than being in their own acting class (their other classes would be swapped around to make sure they were in a class during the 9th grade acting lesson) while Beck, André and Robbie would perform the scene to the rest of their class (Eli and the others would perform it the next day in the 10th grade class). The six spent their lunchtime together reading and discussing the short scene. Freddie's evening was taken up by practising the scene in front of a mirror while Jade and Cat were working together and rehearsing the scene in front of one another. The three arrived in front of the sophomore class the next morning nervous but prepared.

Jade volunteered to go first; the brunette gave a stirring performance before sitting down without a word to the older teens or their teacher. Freddie followed her lead, delivering his lines perfectly and feeling elated as he concluded. His one concern was the lack of any applause for his or Jade's performances (unbeknown to the freshmen the class were instructed NOT to applaud or react in any way to the performances). Nonetheless he couldn't suppress a smile as he dismounted the stage and headed for his seat.

"Why are you smiling?" Sikowitz asked him.

"Because I nailed it" the former tech producer answered confidently.

"You think so?" the teacher challenged.

"Yes" but his voice started to waver just a little at Sikowitz's tone. He summoned up his courage and continued "I got the script right, some pauses for dramatic effect – I'm very happy with my performance."

Sikowitz met his challenging stare for a few seconds before shrugging. "Ok then, sit. Cat, you're up next."

The redhead patted his leg as he sat and they shared a smile as she rose to take the stage. Again an excellent performance was delivered and Cat followed her friend's lead in sitting down without debate.

Due to the three performances the actual "lesson" part was shorter than usual so the class ended quickly. The three 9th graders were told to wait back at the end and watched their peers depart. Finally with just four people in the room, Sikowitz called Freddie over first and spoke to him.

"You REALLY thought your performance was good?" he asked quietly, so as to not be overheard by the waiting girls.

Again the young man felt a little concern but could think of nothing he could or should have done to better it; he remained happy with it so he answered with a vehement "YES"

"In that case; congratulations Freddie, you passed the Bird Scene." In response to his student's slightly perplexed look he continued "The whole point of the Bird Scene is to teach you to believe in your own choices and performances, not those of your audience. You believe in what you did – and for the record it was good – but had you asked me, just once, whether it was good or right then you'd have failed for seeking the approval of others." Freddie's bewilderment increased but the teacher simply concluded by telling him "Now that you know the secret you have to promise not to tell ANYONE at school; they all need to learn it by doing the scene – and as many times as it takes."

The brown-haired boy nodded weakly and returned to his friends with a smile on his face.

"You passed?" Cat's voice was excited.

"Yep" he confirmed and she pulled him into a quick, friendly hug that he eagerly returned while Jade was called over by Sikowitz. A few minutes late both girls also passed and were sworn to secrecy over the scene; they were however allowed to inform their classmates that they'd passed the scene when they saw them at break.

Their rearranged classes followed, while Sikowitz took the remainder of the 9th grade (including the three boys who were attempting to pass the Bird Scene in that lesson) before Freddie, Cat and Jade eagerly made their way to lunch to discover how their classmates had got on. Beck and André passed, though Robbie failed the scene and would be joining the last few of his peers in performing in front of the 10th graders the following day. When pressed on what happened he said he wasn't sure.

"I told you it sucked and you almost cried" Rex piped up; the ventriloquist threw a furious look at his puppet.

"I did not" Robbie shot back, though the look on his face suggested the puppet was not inaccurate.

Cat looked at the curly haired boy with sympathetic eyes and reassured him that she was "sure it wasn't that bad"

"It _was_" returned Rex.

"Just go out there next time and really give it your all" she encouraged him, patting him gently on the arm, a gesture that caused Freddie's face to fall slightly; he attempted to look back at his food before anyone noticed.

* * *

**AN: Ok so I tried to explain how on earth an entire class could pass "The Bird Scene" without any of them discovering the secret; this method of splitting the class up made as much sense to me as anything else.**


	5. Chapter 4

**AN: Hello again to all my readers and welcome to the latest chapter of this story. I hope you continue to enjoy it.**

**Helpwolvesandsmile – thank you for your review. I thought the Harper similarity would work, given that this story is set not too long after "iCarly Saves TV"**

* * *

October began with a spring still in Freddie Benson's step as he made his way in to school; he loved his life in Los Angeles and really enjoyed attending Hollywood Arts. The former Seattle native felt that his classes were going well; in fact his Spanish classes had gone so well that he was told he didn't need to take any more. The boy had no idea why he could speak Spanish so fluently – or randomly – but it had proved useful here as it allowed him to complete the class in record time and spend those periods exploring some of the school's more… unconventional classes, such as directing.

The first time news had reached his new classmates, and the wider acting fraternity of the school, that a 9th grader would be directing some of their productions there had been a general atmosphere of deep misgiving from the student body ("A 9th grader is too young, too inexperienced", "I'm not being directed by someone three years younger than me") but they relented when they discovered that the 9th grader in question was 'Freddie from iCarly'; suddenly they were all too eager to star in his productions – and particularly in something that he had written himself.

Freddie had struck up a particularly quick friendship with a fellow 9th grader, Sinjin van Cleef. An awkward-looking boy with glasses and untidy dirty-blond hair, Sinjin was – like Freddie – rather technically minded; he had little aptitude or interest for singing and acting; instead he preferred to devote his time and energies to special effects and camera work. The pair was able to engage in frequent, in-depth discussions of cameras and A/V equipment (dubbed "nerd babble" by Jade much to Cat's chagrin, who quite enjoyed listening to them talk about such things, even if she didn't always understand it). Freddie hoped to enlist Sinjin's help with the effects for his production, leaving him free to concentrate on the direction.

The brown-haired teen did have one regret, particularly given his time on the webshow, and that was that his creative input and attempts at writing sketches had been limited – and that anything he HAD tried to dream up had been dismissed out of hand by the girls, particularly Sam. He took a little vindictive pleasure in the knowledge that iCarly was no longer on the air, though he had to concede that it wasn't just because of his absence. The main reason, he had learned from a webchat with Carly the previous week, was that Sam had been expelled from school and sent to juvie for beating up Gibby, the strange, chubby kid with a penchant for walking around Ridgeway shirt-less, and putting him in hospital a week after they returned to school for the new academic year. A part of him regretted that it had taken him so long to hear this news, that he wasn't in regular contact with the girl he'd crushed on for three years, that she didn't consider him important enough to maintain regular contact (and that he no longer considered _her_ that important, he mused). The brunette had reported that school was going well for her; she was loving life at her private school and seemed to be thriving in the Briarwood environment. He was pleased about that, and glad that she was settling in there, but it still disappointed him that they now led such separate lives.

His disappointment with his (non-)relationship with Carly had increased during this last chat as it had descended into an argument between them; his annoyance at how quickly he had been replaced as iCarly's technical director finally manifested itself while they were talking (just after she disclosed the news of Sam's arrest and expulsion – and, inevitably, fretted on how it would affect her beloved webshow). He expressed his displeasure; she had retorted brusquely that the show had to go on. _I guess your tech producer really is all I ever was to you Carly_ he had thought afterwards. He mused that that moment of self-awareness did, however, have its upside; he came to the conclusion that he should no longer waste his time wondering about what might have been and instead focus on what could be – he was going to try to win the heart of Cat Valentine.

As he was bereft of creative ideas for his first production as a writer and director Freddie had enlisted the help of his friend (and new crush); the red-haired girl had eagerly leapt to the task and was able to dream up a number of truly outlandish and entertaining scenarios for short plays that the former tech producer could write and direct. Freddie never ceased to be amazed by the power of her imagination (even if it tended to be a little… strange) and grinned as he read through some of her plot ideas. They were good, but there was just one _small_ problem with them…

"Hey" Jade greeted the pair as she joined them at a table in the Asphalt Café one lunchtime. "What's up?"

"Working on ideas for my play for directing class" he told her with a smile.

"I thought you asked Cat to help you with the ideas for it" she noted with a quizzical look to the red-head, who sat quietly sucking on her milkshake.

"She did" he began to explain. "I just needed to uh… make them… practical" he finished as he finally found the words he was looking for.

The brunette nodded knowingly and leaned towards him. "So the ideas are completely crazy?" she asked in a whisper so her friend wouldn't overhear.

Freddie returned his own nod and a smile. "Brilliantly creative" he whispered back "but…" and he trailed off as the red-head leaned towards them.

"Why are we whispering?" she asked in a low voice of her own.

"It's a secret" the girl with green and blue streaked hair whispered back, shooting Freddie a knowing look as she did.

"Oh yay I love secrets" the child-like teen declared happily and sat back, happy to return her attention to her milkshake and eliciting a laugh from her friends.

Freddie went back to reading through plots, and thinking about how he could try to turn them into remotely _sane_ ideas, so that he could begin producing an actual script (which he would later find out that he could _also_ use to build up credit for the script-writing module he'd be taking next year).

In addition to her creativity and wild ideas Cat's time at Hollywood Arts was proving extremely productive for her as she flourished in their acting classes. Her attention span may have been somewhat limited on occasion but when she focused on learning a part she was able to do so and to deliver a series of polished performances in front of her classmates and Sikowitz, who was thrilled with her progress. The freshmen had, however, yet to have an opportunity to audition for a school production.

The 9th grade class had also begun singing lessons and Freddie found himself amazed by the quality of the voices of some of his friends; both Cat and Jade possessed truly astounding vocal abilities, while André's voice, coupled with his talent on a wide range of instruments, made him something of a complete, all-round musician. Beck and even Robbie, despite Rex's claims, possessed a fair amount of talent as singers so Freddie found himself feeling something of an odd man out. His teacher disagreed to an extent, being of the opinion that the former Seattle native had an adequate singing voice and with the potential to improve it. Thus another bonus of his early success in Spanish was that he was, at the behest of his singing teacher, signed up for some extra lessons. The feeling was that these would help him improve and that this would then broaden his repertoire, along with the type of performing roles he could audition for.

Cat had hoped to start make-up and costume-design classes but had been told they were unavailable to students below 10th grade (due to scheduling difficulties for the classes – and a lack of interest from a lot of the 9th grade intake this year). Freddie had suggested she do some research into the subjects on the internet and offered to help her find the information; she readily accepted his assistance.

Freddie met up with André after their classes finished for the day in one of the school's music rooms. The dread-locked musician was still teaching his friend to play the keyboard; their regular lessons were beginning to pay dividends for the former tech producer.

"Yeah, you're gettin' it" André told him with genuine pride in his voice at his pupil's progress. "You'll be on that stage jammin' it up in no time!"

"Well I'm not sure about _that_," Freddie laughed, "but I do think I'm getting better, thanks to you."

Of all the instruments available Freddie had opted for the keyboard, feeling it would be one of the more straight-forward instruments to learn. It was taking a little time for him to become competent with it (and he was also practicing using his Pearpad keyboard app most evenings) and, contrary to his mentor's claims, he didn't feel he'd be performing to an audience in the near future but he felt it would at least check that particular box at the school.

André, meanwhile, had sought Freddie's help with his growing interest in photography; he asked for the brown-haired boy's help with finding out about cameras, what the specifications meant in practical terms, establishing what he's looking for and hoping Freddie would help him decide which model he needed to buy; the technically-minded teen had shown off some of his own cameras and equipment before he talked the musician through them and what everything did.

Robbie had joined the school's newspaper; he was given the job of reviewing some of the school productions. The committee had told him, and he repeated with some pride, that it was almost unprecedented for a 9th grader to make the paper in such a role (they tended to be dubbed apprentices and be very much the bottom of the food chain). The truth was that his job was a poisoned chalice; there were just too many egos to upset – as he found when he published his first review of what he judged to be a bad production. His critique of the acting had also upset Sikowitz and this had led to tension between the two in class until Freddie had spoken up and urged the eccentric teacher to "get over it" and that it "wasn't Robbie's fault that the acting had sucked". The ventriloquist was also continuing to clumsily flirt with Cat; she remained completely oblivious that he was doing it, though she continued to be affronted by Rex insulting her almost as often as he did his master. Jade came to her aid when this happened, attacking Robbie verbally and Rex physically when her friend was upset by the puppet. Meanwhile she and Beck were smiling at each other regularly and were talking outside of class. She excitedly told her red velvet-haired friend that Beck had asked her out. When Cat asked her response she coyly explained that she was making him wait for a little while before answering.

* * *

Freddie's directorial debut was to be a small production in the Black Box theatre; it would be open to the public but little interest was anticipated outside of the cast's friends and family (and maybe a handful of Freddie's friends and classmates who he himself had invited). As he was in the directing class with the sophomore year the brown-haired teen had chosen to cast parts exclusively from his 10th grade colleagues (as was recommended by the teacher) so he chose Ryder and Lindsey in the lead roles. Lindsey was the stand-out actress of the group and, since she and Ryder had been dating since earlier in the semester, Freddie figured they would have the chemistry to make the scenes a little more believable.

So between practicing keyboard and rehearsals for his play the young former tech producer was exhausted from his after-school efforts and they were dominating his life, another reason why he had not been in contact with Carly as frequently as he expected. But this afternoon he hoped all his hard work, and that of his cast, would come to fruition as immediately after school they made their way to the theatre to prepare for the show. The 9th grader went back stage to give a final pep talk to his performers; an air of confidence was exuding from them and this helped to settle his burgeoning nerves. And so it was a calm and relaxed Freddie Benson left the dressing rooms to take his seat alongside his teacher, only for the nerves to return with a vengeance as he passed the curtain to see a full house before him. He took his seat and wondered aloud why so many people were here.

"They're here to see 'Freddie from iCarly' put on his first show" the teacher told him. "Everyone's curious to see what you can do."

Looking around Freddie agreed with the "everyone" sentiment; not a seat was free and people were standing all around the edge of the Black Box theatre.

"Good luck Freddie" a familiar voice called from behind him. He looked back and smiled at his red-haired friend, then at Jade who sat stoically next to her.

He turned back to the stage and took a deep breath as the curtain opened.

* * *

The audience laughed as the lead couple delivered their comedic banter; Freddie smiled as he saw the chemistry between his stars come to the fore. The laughter intensified as an extra in a robot costume walked onto the stage.

"I suggested the robot" Cat happily told Jade with a laugh.

"Why am I not surprised?"

Cat's continuing laughter amused Freddie and he smiled; "at least one person in the audience is enjoying my show" he thought.

The play continued with general carnage ensuing from everything the robot touched. Finally the last scene ended and the lighting faded. Freddie was thankful for the professional work of his classmate who had organised the special effects; he could have done it himself, he mused, but he had enough on his plate with the directing part during rehearsals without the additional workload of doing the effects; it also gave a chance to involve another person in the production and share the credit (a number of his classmates had already approached him about doing the effects for _their_ show so he felt spreading the work and having more people take something from it was the fair thing to do). He was so involved in his thoughts that he almost missed the sustained applause from an audience who had clearly enjoyed the show. He smiled as the performers took their bows and at the huge cheer greeted the robot taking its own bow at the end. The curtain lowered and he turned to his teacher as the theatre began to empty.

"So, what did you think?" he asked nervously.

"I thought it was great" the teacher replied, bringing a huge smile to Freddie's face.

"Wow that was brilliant Freddie" cried Cat as she bounded towards him and gave him a quick hug.

"I couldn't have done it without you Cat" he said generously. "Cat gave me some of the ideas that I put into the script" he explained to his teacher, who smiled at the bubbly red-head.

"Well then I can't wait until you take this class Miss Valentine. You'll get your grade next lesson Freddie" and with a nod he left the relieve teenager with his friends.

After thanking his friend for his efforts with the effects and lighting Freddie went backstage to congratulate the cast on their performances. He found most of them stood together enjoying the adrenaline rush from the play and thanked them for their hard work. He found it slightly odd that his leading man was stood slightly apart from the rest and that the leading lady was nowhere in sight; walking towards the dressing rooms he heard a sob coming from the corner outside the rooms.

"Lindsey?" he asked cautiously. He heard a sniff and walked towards the sound. "Lindsey?" he repeated as he found her on her haunches, head resting on her arms.

The blonde raised her head; her eyes were puffy and red as she looked at him, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"What happened?" he asked softly.

"Ryder – he broke up with me, right after the play. He just said it wasn't working out for him and that we're done."

She dissolved into fresh tears as the brown-haired director tried to console her. Suddenly his triumph was tinged with sadness.


	6. Chapter 5

**AN: Hello again to everyone reading this story. My thanks go out to you, and especially to those who reviewed last week's installment.**

**Power214063 - Tori did not start at Hollywood Arts until towards the end of 10th grade so about a year and a half away from where we are in this story. Of course Trina appears earlier so there is a little scope for her to make the occasional "guest appearance" if the elder Vega's home life becomes relevant later on.  
**

**Agent-M-0167 - yes, Freddie is flourishing at his new school and with his new friends. You're also correct about Sam; iChristmas told us explicitly that, if Carly was not around, she would be in juvie. As for relations between Freddie and Carly... it's a Victorious (plus Freddie) story but their relationship WILL still feature from time to time.  
**

* * *

It was an extremely happy Cat who woke early on the Monday morning; she felt she had had a fantastic weekend and the red-haired singer was looking forward to getting to Hollywood Arts and seeing her friends as she had what she thought was exciting news to share with them. The girl dressed in her dark blue skinny jeans and favourite pink T-shirt before skipping downstairs to breakfast with her family. After they had finished eating, and she had packed her hold-all for the day, her mother gave her a ride to school and the 14-year-old bounced to the Asphalt Café where she eagerly sought out her friend Freddie; to her delight she quickly found him at a table talking with Robbie, Beck and Jade. This pleased her even more as she wanted to give Jade her news too.

"Hey guys" the bubbly teen began.

"Hey" the three boys chorused; Freddie was slightly slack-jawed as he took in her appearance, something his crush missed completely, though Jade noticed his reaction.

"What?" the brunette snapped tersely before shooting a quick and discrete sidelong glance back at the former iCarly tech producer.

"Ah that Monday morning feeling" Freddie joked at her as he snapped out of his admiration for Cat; the mean girl turned to face him and snarled back before the newcomer spoke up, drawing all eyes back to her.

Seemingly oblivious to the exchange Cat continued "My parents took me to this _amazing_ restaurant on Saturday night. They had amazing steaks and crab cakes and lobster mashed potatoes and classy live music, and the most insane desserts I have ever tasted."

"Well we gotta go there" Robbie spoke up, his mouth already watering in anticipation.

"No, it was like _really_ expensive, there's no way we could afford it" she returned with a hint of sadness.

At that moment the bell went and the group made their way to Sikowitz's classroom, listening jealously as Cat continue to extol the virtues of Maestro's restaurant.

"Good morning Earthlings" the acting teacher greeted his charges jovially at the start of the day's lesson. "Ok, today I need…" he waved his right arm dramatically for a few moments before extending it in front of him and raising his index and middle fingers towards the class "two willing volunteers. C'mon, don't be shy!"

With a little trepidation Freddie reluctantly raised his hand; he wasn't too keen to go up but wanted a distraction from thinking about his directing class. While his teacher had praised his debut production, and thus he hoped that he had achieved a good grade, the recent break-up of Lindsey and Ryder could cause some friction in the lesson later on that day. To his right he noticed that Cat also raided her hand, though far more eagerly. She wore a huge smile and seemed desperate to be selected.

"Freddie, Cat… excellent" Sikowitz beamed. He handed the pair a folded sheet of paper each. "Now Freddie, over there" he motioned to his right "Cat there" he pointed left. The two walked to opposite sides of the stage and sat down. "You have 15 minutes to learn those lines then we'll see what you can do" the teacher called.

Cat received her script and glanced through it; her eyes widened when she reached half-way down. _Daniel and Mary kiss passionately_. The red-head gasped visibly, something Jade noticed immediately, and she glanced across the room to Freddie. The red velvet-haired teen saw her friend visibly paling and swallowing nervously before he turned his head towards her. Immediately she returned her gaze to her lines before he could catch her looking and the girl began trying to read through the script, only to find that her eyes were constantly drawn to the line about the kiss.

Sikowitz introduced the rest of the class to "drive-by acting" where he gave them a character to play and they improvised a few lines. With the whole class talking over one another in character the room took on an air of chaos and pandemonium. The balding teacher smiled as Cat and Freddie sat at either side of the stage utterly oblivious to what was going on around them; he was pretty sure that he knew EXACTLY what was going through the teenagers' minds at that moment.

Finally their fifteen minutes were up; Sikowitz settled their classmates back into their seats and quietened them down before he called for Freddie and Cat to take centre stage. He took their scripts from them and returned to the back of the room, taking a seat and smiling as he looked in their direction.

"Begin" he urged, training all eyes in the room on the young pair.

Freddie swallowed again and gave Cat a shy look; the red velvet-haired girl refused to meet his eyes. Jade's frown intensified as she contemplated their mutual awkwardness. "Oh Mary it's so good to see you again". The brown-haired boy was thankful that he could at least recall the first line.

"Daniel, I've missed you too my love" Cat replied in a shaky voice; the girl felt absolutely petrified by what was to come.

"I know; it's been…" Freddie's mind went blank so he tried to improvise "four weeks?"

Cat looked expectantly at him for a couple of painful seconds before Sikowitz called out "If the line's gone, don't worry. Just try to move onto the next one and keep it going."

She nodded, licked her dry lips, opened her mouth but no words came out. "I can't remember what came next" she told the teacher sadly.

"What _do_ you both remember?" he asked in an even tone; obviously he knew where this was going, the rest of the class did not.

"I can't think of anything beyond the kiss" the brown-haired boy admitted, drawing gasps from the other students and a murmur to ripple around the classroom as his peers looked to and talked among each other.

"Me neither" his red-haired friend supplied.

Sikowitz nodded. "Well that's what the script demands so…" he held his hands palm up towards them. "Off you go then."

The teens looked at him in surprise, before turning to one another with identical expressions of horror; meanwhile another shocked murmur lapped around the classroom. Freddie gulped down his nerves again and took a step towards Cat; she reciprocated and they soon found themselves toe-to-toe. He gently cupped her cheek with his left hand as he leaned in towards her, she matched his moves and their lips met lightly.

Although something in the back of Cat's mind registered the word "passionately" in regards to the kiss the most she could bring herself to do was to hold her partner in place while they continued their chaste kiss for a few more seconds; finally both pulled away. Secretly she enjoyed the feeling of kissing Freddie but a painful shyness overcame her and she was unable to meet his eyes; had she tried she'd have seen him desperately looking anywhere but at her.

Sikowitz began to clap as he rose and joined them on stage; the rest of the class followed (though had anyone been looking they'd have seen that Robbie seemed extremely reluctant to do so) and this caused the teens to turn their attention to their peers with identical embarrassed grins. The balding acting teacher stood between them, an arm around each, and began

"You see? Look how uncomfortable your classmates were up here; they forgot lines, they were nervous, they looked _terrified_. And why? Because they had to kiss. And that is something you all need to overcome." He released his students and roamed the stage as he continued "Most plays, most productions, most _lead roles_ have a romantic interest. In other words, most productions you try out for, especially the starring roles, will require you to kiss someone – probably someone else in this room with you." Yet another wave of uncomfortable glances circled the classroom. "You have to learn to compartmentalise; stage kissing is just another act, nothing but another part of acting. Ok" he clapped "Over the next couple of lessons each and every one of you will have to come up here and have a stage kiss or two; _you have to get comfortable with it_. Freddie, Cat; you may sit down."

Freddie didn't need telling twice; secretly he'd enjoyed the feeling of kissing Cat too but was very self-conscious and embarrassed by the whole incident, particularly having such a public kiss. The brown-eyed teen flew back to his seat; Cat was just a half step behind.

* * *

The former iCarly member's mood hadn't improved by lunch; he was still uncomfortable about what had happened in class and really didn't want any company so instead he sought out an empty table in the farthest corner of the Asphalt Café; somewhere he hoped that he could be alone with just his thoughts and his lunch. The plan swiftly failed when he saw someone slide into the seat opposite him a matter of minutes later. He didn't look up and instead ignored the newcomer, remaining focussed on his food until the painful silence was broken after a few seconds.

"Hi Freddie" Cat's soft, nerve-laced voice and sweet smile encouraged him to lift his gaze and meet her eyes at last.

"Hey" he returned weakly.

"Are you ok… I mean after Sikowitz's class?"

"I'm just… a little uncomfortable and embarrassed about the whole thing" the boy conceded slowly before elaborating "I mean, I get what he said about it being a part of acting, a part of our education here and us having to get used to it, it's just…" He sighed and bit his tongue as his eyes left hers and stared up into the deep blue, cloudless Los Angeles sky. The gentle touch of her fingers on his forearm brought his attention back to her; her smile was now a mixture of sympathy and encouragement. He sighed again and admitted in a whisper "I've only ever had a _real_ kiss from one girl before. So to kiss you, and so publically…" He trailed off and looked helplessly at her, completely at a loss for words to explain his emotions.

She broadened her smile slightly, showing her teeth and whispered, with evident nerves "That's one more than me." His eyes widened at the revelation. "You're surprised?" she laughed sweetly.

"Well yeah, you're a really pretty girl Cat; I just figured you'd have the boys queuing up."

"You're really handsome as well Freddie… So you and Carly..?"

"No" he cut her off. "She was never interested in me like that" He was surprised that the sadness he had expected to lace his voice in this admission just wasn't there. _Maybe I am growing out of that crush_ he speculated. "It was this one girl, Valerie" he continued "I got talking to her during one episode of iCarly; she said she thought I was cute and wanted to date me." He sighed as the painful memory flooded back to the forefront of his mind before he continued with the story "then, after we'd dated for about a week, she asked me to be the tech producer for _her_ new webshow. It meant ditching Carly and Sam but she guilt-tripped me. When she got me to say yes she gave me a peck on the lips in front of everyone at school, then we had a couple of what you might call 'proper' kisses at her place after I helped her with the first show… before I found out that she was just using me to take down iCarly." He sighed miserably again "Figures that the only girl who ever shows an interest in me would really just be using me."

Cat put a sympathetic hand on his arm but, before she could say anything consoling to her friend, Jade appeared at the table and interrupted them.

"Hey, we were all checking out the rec room just now; come and see what they've just added."

The two teens followed their brunette friend as she led the way to the rec room.

"I wonder how they grow lobster potatoes" the red-head piped up suddenly, causing her two friends to look at her. Privately Freddie was relieved at the change of subject, particularly such a random change, as it enabled him to forget the awkwardness that had followed their kiss.

"They don't _grow_ them Cat" Jade growled impatiently.

Freddie saw his new crush's face fall so he quickly suggested "Maybe they could genetically engineer a potato so it tasted a bit like lobster." Jade rolled her eyes; _of course you'd think of that sort of explanation_ she thought.

"Oh I was thinking they'd just plant them both in the same hole" the red-head noted.

"That could work too" he smiled at her. Jade turned to frown at them and he shot a quick smirk at her. It turned quickly into a broad grin, one matched by the one on Cat's face and her best friend simply shook her head and smiled in spite of herself.

The group soon arrived at and entered the rec room, where they saw Robbie and Beck playing ping pong while André watched.

"This is great" Robbie said, setting his bat down as Beck drove the ball past him.

"That _was_ fun" Beck agreed.

"They must have put the table in over the weekend" Jade told the newcomers.

Freddie turned to face Cat. "Fancy a game?" he asked, gathering up the bats and proffering one to her. The singer accepted and the two spent the next few minutes at the table, playing and laughing while their friends cheered them on.

"That was fantastic" Freddie laughed after the bell sounded and they left the rec room.

"I loved it" Cat agreed.

"Something fun to do on a lunchtime" Beck echoed. "Well, something else" he amended as Jade looked at him. She then flashed him a flirtatious smile; the green streak-haired girl had finally given the long-haired Canadian her answer at the end of the previous week and they had been on their first date over the weekend. Despite not being much for girl-talk she had willingly given Cat some of the details; her red velvet-haired friend had lapped them up as eagerly as her name implies, cooing and simpering in all the right places as she did.

"So what are you guys up to tonight?" Beck asked the group as they traversed the corridors.

"Nothing"

"Not much" came from most of the group but Freddie spoke up…

"I have a fencing lesson tonight"

"You fence?" Jade asked, raising a pierced eyebrow at the boy.

"Yeah; I tagged along with Carly's brother, Spencer, last year and found that I was actually pretty good at it. Then my mom told me that some of my ancestors were masters of the sport so I guess it's kinda inherited" he shrugged. "I loved it and I've been wanting to take it up again since I got here but I was always a little too busy to find a place and start up again. I finally got around to it and I start tonight."

"Sounds pretty cool" André observed; the musician sounded genuinely impressed with his friend.

Cat giggled and began making swishing sounds and wielding an imaginary sword.

"Cat!" Jade hissed, catching the slightly affronted look on Freddie's face as he wondered whether the dizzy girl was mocking him.

"What? I was swashbuckling" her voice was slightly whiney at the gothic girl's rebuke.

Freddie's last class of the day was his directing; his friends were in Spanish so he had an hour without them; he reflected as he opened the door to the classroom that it would be a goof day to be alone with his own thoughts but that he would, instead, likely have to deal with the fall-out from the Ryder/Lindsey situation instead. He also remembered that he was about to get the grade for his first production and the nerves from that immediately usurped the churning emotions from his earlier stage kiss. He instantly noticed that Lindsey had changed seats to one as far from Ryder as she could get; his decision to break up with her had not stopped the other girls in the class from sitting near him; if anything the reverse was true and they swooned around him hoping that they might now get their chance with him. The director sat next to her, feeling huge sympathy as he took in the hurt expression on her face.

"Hey" he said softly, viewing her with sympathetic eyes.

She looked up at him but said nothing, though she did spare him a very watery smile before her gaze returned to her lap.

"Thank you" he whispered "for your performance last week" he elaborated as she looked to him in bewilderment. "I thought you were great."

"Freddie, no offence but I really don't want to talk to anybody right now."

He nodded and sat back in his seat, acquiescing to her request for silence; the 14-year-old turned his attention to the door as the teacher entered through it.

"Good afternoon class and, first of all, congratulations to all of you who were involved in the excellent production last week. I thought it was very well acted, I thought the effects were excellent and, most importantly – for this class anyway – I thought the director did an excellent job, so well done Freddie it was a fine debut." He then led the class in a round of applause for the director. "Anything you'd like to say Freddie?" he asked as the boy hesitantly motioned as if to stand. He accepted the invitation, stood and turned to face the class as their eyes trained on him.

"Yes sir, I'd like to just thank everyone here who contributed. It was great working with you all. I certainly didn't expect that big of an audience to be watching us but you all did a great job in front of them, so thanks." And with that he retook his seat and turned to the teacher as he began the lesson.

After a brief introduction the class was split into small groups to begin practicing some of the new techniques they were studying; Freddie was called to one side to receive his grade (he got an A – 95%; an almost unheard of achievement for a 9th grader – or in fact someone of any age doing their first performance at Hollywood Arts). With a renewed spring in his step he re-joined his group to continue their deliberations and planning.

* * *

"Hey Freddie, how was your day?" his mom greeted him as he arrived at their home.

"Great, thanks mom. I got 95% on the play I directed last week". He decided to focus on that rather than the day's other big incident.

"That's fantastic; it sounds as if you're really doing well at this school."

"I am mom, I love it there – and I love life in L.A. I do miss Seattle but this place is starting to feel like home for me."

"I'm glad to hear that; I'm happy too" Marissa smiled at her son.

"So how was your day?" he enquired, knowing that it would give him a few minutes to just smile, nod a few times and half-listen while he relaxed and let the Head Nurse's blow-by-blow, minute-by-minute account of her day wash over him.

With no earth-shattering revelations from his mother's day the two Bensons were able to enjoy a quiet and companiable early evening together. Marissa cooked the typically nutritious (and, in Freddie's opinion, tasteless) fare before he headed to his room, citing schoolwork to be done.

Instead he lay back on his bed and closed his eyes. His mind clearly pictured a girl, a pretty girl with a happy smile, her eyes bright and full of life. With a jolt somewhere in his stomach he realised that for so many years he had pictured a different girl, a brunette girl, but now it was a red-head who occupied his thoughts. He thought back to their chaste kiss earlier in the day and his lips curved into a smile.

* * *

**AN: Yeah I'm calling total BS on Sam and Freddie being one another's first kiss; I just don't buy it for a second – for either of them (it's not relevant to the story but if anyone wants to know my opinion on Sam's then feel free to ask).**


	7. Chapter 6

**AN: Hello again to all my valued readers. My continued thanks to you all and especially to those who took the time and trouble to review the last chapter. So a special mention to Rihann, Agent-M-0167 (I could comment on how nobody is likely to know what Cat is thinking, possibly including the girl herself, but that may be construed as a little cruel), BushwellFanNYC and "Guest" for your kind words and continuing enjoyment of my work. I hope you all enjoy this instalment as much as the last one.**

* * *

Cat arrived early at school and sat down at the gang's favourite table in the Asphalt Café. She picked up the book she was currently reading and quickly found the page she had reached. She had barely begun to read it, however, when she was joined at the table.

"Hey" Freddie's voice greeted her as he slid his bag onto the table top.

"Oh hey" she said in her usual excited tones. Secretly she was delighted to see the former tech producer as she had been developing a little crush on him ever since they first met at the end of the previous term during their auditions and it had intensified after their stage kiss a few days ago. The red-haired girl was, however, nervous about admitting this to anyone, fearing that the boy might not feel the same way. "Shall we head inside?" she asked, glancing at her watch.

"Sure, let's go" he said, gathering up his bag again. The girl did likewise with her own bag, depositing the book back inside it as she did, and the pair made their way inside. No sooner had they done so than Cat's eyes were drawn to a poster. She stopped abruptly and this caused Freddie to backtrack a couple of steps to see what had caught his friend's attention.

_The Gold Rush_

_Hollywood Arts will be putting on a performance of Broadway Smash Hit "The Gold Rush". Opening Night December 1__st__._

_Any students interested in auditioning please sign up in E. Sikowitz's classroom before end of school day October 17__th__._

"What do you think?" Cat asked Freddie as they read the poster together. "Wanna audition for it?"

"I _would_ but… we're 9th graders Cat; they're not going to cast me above one of the senior guys here for a major role."

"Well they definitely won't if you don't go for it" she retorted cleverly. Her friend shrugged, unable to think of any sort of comeback.

"I guess I'm auditioning" he declared in a resigned tone before smiling at her expectant face. She clapped and gave a small cheer.

* * *

It was a nervy Freddie Benson who sat outside Sikowitz's room the following Monday. Auditions were being held after school and he was awaiting his turn, looking around at the older guys (some he knew by sight, some he had never seen before) who were also there for audition. Hardly any of them spared him a glance, although one or two sniggered at him – no doubt they found it ludicrous – and hilarious – that a freshman was auditioning for a part in a school production.

His turn soon came around and he was called in by the eccentric teacher. In the room with them was attractive senior girl who Freddie had never met. She had shoulder length blonde hair and wore a dark blue Hollywood Arts T-shirt and pale blue jeans. Sikowitz handed Freddie a short script; his parts were highlighted, she would be reading the other lines.

The 14-year-old was given a minute to read through his lines before Sikowitz called _action_.

"I can't do it" he said, reading out the first line and turning his back on the girl.

"Why not?" she called after him, closing the distance between them and placing her hand on his right shoulder.

"Because…" he turned round to face her; despite his recent growth spurt she was half-a-head taller than him so he looked up slightly to meet her eyes "it's too hard, seeing you every day. Knowing what I do, feeling the way I do. I just can't be around you right now."

"How do you feel?" she asked softly, looking down, her blue eyes meeting his brown.

"You know how I feel" he snapped back, taking a step backwards. His 'co-star' took a step forward, keeping well in his personal space and wearing a near predatory look on her face as she eyed him.

Freddie retreated further until his back was against the window; his every move was matched by the blonde; she was still almost toe-to-toe with him and her eyes remained locked on his.

"Tell me how you feel" she implored him. "Tell me that you hate me, that you never want to see me again. Tell me that and I walk out that door right now." She pointed to the little-used door at the back of the stage but her face leaned ever closer to Freddie's.

He looked away from her, struggling to keep his mind in check. The rational part of his brain knew she was playing a part; unfortunately his hormones were anything but rational and he realised that he was in danger of blowing the whole audition if he didn't keep on top of everything. He took a deep breath, stole a glance at his script and turned to the blonde. You could put one, maybe two but not three sheets of paper between their noses. He closed his eyes and gave a weary sigh.

"I want you to go. I never want to see you again."

"I…" she gasped "I don't believe you" she continued in a stunned voice as she finally took a step backwards, a _very welcome_ step backwards as far as the former tech producer was concerned.

"AND CUT!" Sikowitz called out. "Thank you Freddie, Alicia. Ok Alicia, get ready for the next one, Freddie… I'll let you know later this week."

"Ok" he panted slightly. "Thanks… Alicia" he nodded to the blonde and flashed a boyish grin at the older girl before handing his script to Sikowitz and walking out of the classroom breathing a little more heavily than usual. As he composed himself his mood improved; he reflected on his performance and thought that he'd delivered the lines quite well and that he had managed to do so despite the distraction of the hot blonde getting in his face. Despite his crush on Cat he shivered slightly at the thought of Alicia and a little part of him found itself wishing that _this_ script had included a stage kiss.

Cat had her audition the following night; the script was the same but the parts reversed so a senior guy read the part Freddie had auditioned to while she had Alicia's lines. Like Freddie she was nervous but felt that she'd given a reasonable performance. Again she was thanked by Sikowitz and told she'd hear the verdict later in the week.

* * *

"So you guys _seriously_ auditioned for this thing?" asked an incredulous Jade as the trio watched André and Beck playing ping pong the following lunchtime.

"Yeah; I convinced him to go for it" Cat replied, a little smugly in Freddie's opinion.

"How do you think it went?" asked Robbie curiously.

"Pretty well" Freddie answered. "I delivered all the lines, didn't have to use the script _too _often. I doubt I'll get the part, being a freshman and all, but it was a good experience."

The former tech producer then replaced André at the table; the songsmith had just lost to Beck. It wasn't long before the long-haired actor was struggling as Freddie turned on the style and began to toy with his opponent.

"How… did you… get so… good?" a breathless Beck wondered in mild annoyance and frustration as the pair placed their bats and the ball on the table after the former Seattleite's comprehensive victory (not that they _really_ kept score but sometimes, like this, it was very obvious who the better player and 'victor' was).

"Footwork from my fencing" he explained. "It's been really good for my agility."

The gang had discovered other games in the rec room (Twister was a firm favourite) and these added some variety to their lunchtimes; they would generally spend the time hanging out and having fun.

As he looked around at the others Freddie was struck by the realisation that he had never felt happier than he did right now, not with Carly and Sam and nor with the AV Club back at Ridgeway. He looked around at the group, his eyes first resting on Cat – obviously the red-headed girl was a huge part of the reason for his happiness; they had become really close friends and he held out hope that there would be the opportunity for more than just friendship. Next to her was her best friend Jade; yes the brunette could be short-tempered and cranky towards people but she was also cool and fun. Freddie also noted that she had seldom been short or snarky towards _him_ and that he felt that a good friendship was evolving between the two of them. Next to her sat Beck and André and Freddie reflected on how well he got on with them and how good it was to have some close guy friends after hanging with the two girls in Seattle for so long. Finally, he mused, there was Robbie; the brown-eyed teen could see a lot of the boy who left Seattle a few months ago in the awkward teen and he had come to understand that Rex was the person Robbie wanted to be but daren't become. He sat back, sweeping his gaze back across the group with a satisfied smile on his face.

"What's put _you_ in a good mood?" Jade enquired.

"I'm happy" he replied. "I love it here at Hollywood Arts, and in Los Angeles." His eyes shifted back to the girl with red velvet hair and saw her grinning happily while she looked at him.

"You don't miss Seattle at all?" Jade asked curiously.

"A little" he sighed "but being friends with you guys is great and has really made me feel at home here and settle into life in this school and this city. Obviously mom's here with me which…" he paused for a second "kinda helps." The others looked at him with identical confused expressions. "She can be a bit of a nut" he explained before continuing "It's a shame that Carly and I have drifted apart but she got into another school as well so it may have happened whether I moved here or not."

"I loved iCarly" Cat lamented sadly. "It's a real pity that it stopped."

Freddie smiled thoughtfully at her. "Maybe some time that I'm video chatting to her you could be around and say hi" he suggested.

"I'd love that" his crush responded brightly.

"Well, for the record, we're all glad you're here too" André told him; Beck nodded his agreement.

The bell peeled and the gang gathered their belongings before heading to Sikowitz's room.

"I wonder if we'll here about the play today" Cat said as they approached the classroom.

"He did say it would be sometime this week" Freddie commented. "I guess we'll see if he says anything at the end of the lesson" he concluded with a small shrug of his shoulders.

"Freddie, Cat, a word please" Sikowitz called to the pair as the bell ended their latest acting lesson.

The two teens turned away from their friends and made their way over to the stage at the front of the classroom. Cat waved Jade off as the dark-haired girl hovered just inside the door. She shrugged and caught up with Beck and the others.

"You both auditioned well for the play" he began. Cat gave a short squeal of excitement, though Freddie remained calmer, waiting for the 'but'. Sure enough… "but for a lead role I'm uncomfortable casting people as young as you two for it."

"Oh" Cat's face fell in disappointment and she looked down at the floor.

"However" Sikowitz's word caused the red-head to lift her head back up to look at him "I need understudies for my lead pair and I would like you both to _be_ those understudies."

"Uh wow" Freddie began, looking at Cat "What would we have to do?" he asked his teacher.

"Hopefully nothing; an understudy, if you don't know, plays the part if the main actor can't perform for whatever reason. So it's likely you won't actually have any part in the play but you'd be ready and waiting as a back-up in case you _were_ needed."

"That sounds like so much fun" Cat declared, giggling at Freddie.

"Sure, I'll do it" he said with a smile.

"Excellent" Sikowitz clapped his hands. "Here are your scripts." The balding acting teacher handed the pair a sheaf of paper each.

* * *

"_It's an all night party that we getting into_

_If you think it's all over then the joke is on you_

_It's a dream_

_It's a scene and it's all brand new_

_If you think you can stop it then the joke is on you_"

"Cat!" Jade snapped at her friend. "Do you _have_ to sing that all janking day?"

"I'm sorry but I have to practice" the red-head wailed.

Cat had her first singing recital coming up in the next couple of weeks so she was practicing for that a lot, both at school and on evenings. The latter was making things tricky for the freshman pair as they struggled to find opportunities to rehearse together; their workload was beginning to increase noticeably. They had been told they didn't need to attend formal rehearsals, which Freddie felt was a good thing as he had to help with some of his classmates' productions (from his directing class); the brown-haired teen was doing the effects for one play and had a small role in another, hence he was having to attend _their_ rehearsals. Cat, of course, had her recital to prepare for. They _would_ have to attend at least one rehearsal closer to opening night but, for now, they had the extra time to get on with their own work. All in all, therefore, it was very difficult for them to get the timings down for their lines (even if they knew the actual lines themselves) though Cat did rehearse with her father, and Freddie with his mother, when they got a chance at home.

They finally got an opportunity one Friday night; they just happened to be leaving school together as Freddie's rehearsal and Cat's singing practice coincidentally ended at the same time. The red velvet-haired girl invited her friend back to her house for dinner (her mother was there to pick her up, Freddie's was still at work, and she was told it would be ok) and to rehearse together afterwards.

Mrs Valentine prepared a quick meal for them then the pair retired to the living area and sat with their scripts to hand (though both felt they knew the lines well enough to get through – which, it transpired, they did).

They moved swiftly through the acts and scenes, jumping over other characters' lines before approaching the finalé.

"It's been so long," Cat whispered, "but finally we're together again." She looked bashfully at the boy to her left, the boy she secretly liked – a lot.

"And then we kiss" Freddie said, looking directly at his secret crush. She nodded nervously before leaning towards him and meeting his lips with her own.

The teens' arms began, almost involuntarily, to find a way around one another as they continued their kiss before a voice interrupted them, causing them to quickly spring apart.

"Hey sis!"

"Oh hey" she panted as her brother walked in. "Why's your hand all purple?" she asked, pointing to his right hand.

"Oh, not just my hand" he raised shirt to give them a better view of his midriff. "I had a job interview today; I think it went really well" and with that he headed upstairs leaving a bewildered Freddie looking at Cat.

"My brother" she shrugged.

"Is he… ok?" Freddie asked cautiously.

"No, he had a bad accident" she said sadly and bowed her head.

Freddie looked over at his friend, studying her face and taking in her beauty, thinking about when she smiled (which she did frequently given her generally happy demeanour); everything about her that he liked – inside and out – came to mind as she met his eyes, her shy expression mirroring his own feelings. Despite the moment having been broken by her brother's appearance he steeled himself for what he wanted to do, what he _needed_ to do. _It's now or never Benson_ he told himself as he took a deep breath and turned his body towards Cat's; his knees bumped against hers because they were sat so close together. He knew _he_ had put his arms around her involuntarily but in his mind he feared she had done it simply as part of the acting exercise.

"Cat," he began slowly; the red-haired girl was looking straight at him with an unreadable expression on her face "when we were rehearsing just now… that wasn't just a stage kiss for me. I really like you." He quickly looked away after his confession. _This is it, this is where she tells me that we can only be friends, that a stage kiss means nothing_ he thought miserably.

The young former tech producer felt Cat's hands take his arm as the red-head scooted ever closer and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I really like you too Freddie" she whispered, causing him to jump slightly in amazement. She lifted her head from his shoulder and he turned to face her. She swooped forward and gave him a little peck on the lips.

"I don't think our stage kiss really fit the script's description of _passionate_ though" she whispered conspiratorially, a mix of nerves, anticipation and mischief in her voice. She leaned in and pressed her lips to his again.

It took Freddie a moment to fully comprehend what she was doing but when he did he slipped his arms around her and began to pour his heart and soul into kissing the sweet girl back. Her arms snaked around his back and pulled him closer to her.

"So are we, like, dating now?" Freddie asked when their lips parted.

"I guess" she simpered and giggled shyly, seizing his hand with her own and squeezing it gently.


	8. Chapter 7

**AN: Hello everyone. I would like to thank you all for your continued support and reading of this story. Particularly I would like to thank those who reviewed Chapter 6. **

**Challenge King, thank you for your kind words about the writing and progression of the story.**

**Agent M, I'm glad you weren't disappointed with the way it all started for them. As for planning something… well you'll have to keep reading to find out.**

* * *

The elation Freddie felt from the events of the previous evening was still persisting when he awoke; it was another bright, sunny autumn day in Los Angeles and the weather was certainly matching his mood. He selected a slightly smarter shirt than normal, along with a newer pair of jeans, and sang softly to himself as he dressed; his teacher had encouraged him to practice whenever possible so he figured that mornings, particularly if it was as fantastic a morning as this, were as good a time as any. He gathered up a towel and his swimwear and slipped them into his bag.

"Good morning mom" he greeted his mother brightly and cheerfully as he entered the kitchen, planting a kiss on her cheek before pouring himself a cup of coffee. Marissa frowned slightly at his back; she had a horrible feeling she knew what his mood meant.

"So Freddie, you seem in a good mood this morning" she prompted pointedly as he joined her at the table and began filling his bowl with cereal.

He looked up and smiled at her. "What is there to be unhappy about on this fine, sunny day?"

"I suppose that girl with the unnaturally red hair wouldn't have anything to do with how you're feeling?"

Freddie's smile left his face in an instant; the brown-haired teenager frowned at his mother.

"Yes" he confirmed. "Cat is a large part of why I'm in a good mood mom"

"You two are…" she trailed off, unable or unwilling to find the words.

"Yes, we're dating. She's a really nice girl, mom, and she likes me."

Marissa returned her attention to her breakfast. Her son did likewise, frustrated at the way his mother had caused his good mood to swiftly evaporate.

Meanwhile Cat was her usual bubbly and bouncy self as she prepared for another day at school, dressing in her short denim shorts and a red t-shirt; the red-haired girl's mood rarely seemed to change so her parents were given little hint as to how things were in her life. They did, however, discover their daughter's new relationship courtesy of her older brother.

"So sis, who's that guy you were kissing on the couch yesterday?" he asked in an off-hand tone.

"Oh that's Freddie" she replied happily.

"You two were kissing?" asked her mother who, after all, had met the boy over the summer.

"Uh huh, it started out as us rehearsing for a play that we both tried out for; we're both understudies for the lead roles" she elaborated "but then we decided we like each other, so now we're dating" she finished with an excited giggle.

The Valentine parents traded a look and a shrug; both were pleased to see their daughter happy, though they would talk later about how best to keep an eye on her – she was, after all, only fourteen.

With Marissa working extra shifts over the weekend Freddie had already arranged to hang with Cat, Jade and Beck before the events of the previous night. Secretly both of them (and the other couple) wished they could have spent the time as couples rather than as a foursome but the plans had been made and nobody voiced their concerns. Instead the four headed for the beach; Jade and Beck walking a few yards behind the other two. The dark-haired girl noted the conjoined hands of Cat and Freddie and squeezed Beck's hand to draw his attention before gesturing to the couple with a small smile. The long-haired Canadian-born actor returned her smile.

Later, however, the mean girl pulled Freddie briefly to one side.

"You'll look after her, right?" she demanded of him. He nodded.

"I'll treat her right Jade." She smiled in response to his answer.

* * *

The former iCarly tech producer arrived at school a little earlier than normal on the following Monday morning; it had been a frostily quiet journey to school for him with his mother still being clearly unhappy about the presence of a new girl in her son's life. Meanwhile Freddie was feeling resentful that she was killing his happiness about it. He headed for the library and spent half an hour getting a little more homework done and trying to get ahead with some of his studies. The warning bell brought him from his books and he headed for his locker, which he had decorated in the style of an open laptop. He opened it and knelt down, reaching in to organise it – and his bag – for the day ahead.

"Hi" Cat's excited and high-pitched voice sounded behind him. He righted himself and turned to see her, Jade, Beck, André and Robbie (and Rex) stood in a group next to him. The red-haired girl was smiling broadly at him.

"Hey" he greeted her, returning her smile with a warm one of his own. She leaned forward and gave him a little peck on the cheeks, causing them both to giggle a little. Over Cat's shoulder Freddie could see Jade eyeing them with an approving smirk as she squeezed Beck's hand but his eyes were soon drawn to the crestfallen look on Robbie's face. The curly-haired ventriloquist turned to his puppet, who immediately started laughing.

"Heh heh heh, you lose out again Rob" he mocked.

Cat was clearly oblivious to the little exchange; her focus was on Freddie and she continued to gaze at him with a smile stuck to her face. The brown-eyed boy, however, spared Robbie a consoling look; he knew all too well what was going through his friend's mind right about now. He had no time to offer any encouragement, however, as Cat seized his hand and dragged him off to class, continuing to giggle as they went.

First class of the day for the gang was Sikowitz's acting class. The class were working on improvisation today ("improv" in his short-hand); the eccentric teacher called up a group, gave them a scenario but no script and they were expected to immediately create a short scene. Unsurprisingly it was an unmitigated disaster for most of them; they struggled to come up with scenes and lines on the spot. Freddie, drawing on his experience from iCarly, and Cat, prepared to spew out the first thing that entered her head, performed better than most of the class and were praised for their efforts. The rest were encouraged to follow their lead and just let their imagination take over, risking a little light ridicule in the confines of the classroom in order to hone their skills. Class ended with the bell and the gang went their separate ways for period 2; as usual they arranged to get together later for lunch.

* * *

Lunchtime saw the kids meet at their now usual location, the rec room. Freddie, in particular, was enjoying their ping pong games; his fencing practice had made him more agile and dextrous than his friends and he put the advantage to good use. They never really kept score when they played but it was clear that he was the best player of the group.

Robbie found himself enjoying the time he spent in the company of the others; his naturally painfully shy and awkward nature meant that he had struggled to make friends in the past – and was a huge part of what made Rex what 'he' was. Keen to extend the amount of time spent in the company of the others he made a suggestion to them.

"We should form a Hollywood Arts ping pong team and compete against other schools" the ventriloquist enthused as they left the room after the warning bell sounded.

An annoyed Jade slapped him hard on the top of his head for his proposal, an action that caused Freddie to shake his head ruefully as he looked at the streaked-haired teenager.

"What was _that_ for?" the curly-haired teen asked as he rubbed his head.

"For having the brains of a potato" she snapped back.

"Heh heh heh, potato brain" Rex echoed.

"I like lobster mashed potato" Cat piped up.

"Hey" the brunette said, suddenly stopping in her tracks. Beck, who was holding her hand at the time, was jerked to a halt just ahead of her.

"What?" the red-head asked her friend curiously.

"You know how it says on the school website that sports teams get a fifteen hundred dollar bursary from the school towards equipment and travel?"

"Yeah" Beck said slowly as his mind began to think he wouldn't like what his girlfriend was about to suggest.

"Well what if we form a fake ping pong team, take the fifteen hundred dollars the school gives us and go to that nice restaurant Cat told us about."

"I dunno, it sounds _wrong_" Freddie told her, looking around his friends for support.

The mean girl leaned towards him and whispered, loud enough for only Freddie and Beck, who still held her hand, to hear "If you were _ever _planning on taking Cat there then you're gonna have to do _something_. You get, what, eight bucks a month from your mom as an allowance?" He confirmed the fact with a sad, embarrassed nod of his head. "Well this place is like a hundred bucks a head, you'd be saving for two years before you could take her there." She glanced to her boyfriend's face, took in his expression and smirked "Yeah I can do math."

"I'm in" the former tech producer confirmed reluctantly causing the red-haired girl to squeal and cheer as she, too, warmed to the idea of doing something that would allow her to return to Maestro's for another excellent dinner. "But wait, don't all teams _also_ need a member of staff to be part of it?"

"Oh yeah" Jade confirmed, "and I know _just_ who to ask."

* * *

"No" Sikowitz refused firmly as the kids cornered him outside his classroom. "What you are suggesting is way too devious – and illegal; I cannot be a party to you doing something like that with the school's money."

As one the kids' shoulders slumped in disappointment, except for Freddie, who gave a little sigh of relief.

"Changing the subject... did you all hear the news?" the balding teacher asked them, returning all eyes to him. "Principal Eikner might be getting fired?"

"What? Why?" asked Freddie.

"Well you see Freddie" the acting teacher began, folding his arms across his chest "the principal's boss, the Superintendent, is unhappy with the lack of sporting success at this school."

"But this is a _performing arts_ school" the former Seattleite reasoned "Why does it matter whether any of us can do sports if we're going to go on to be performers?"

"Be that as it may, he wants at least _one_ team from Hollywood Arts to win a sporting trophy this year or he's _out_."

"Well I'm a pretty decent fencer; we could start up a fencing team and see if we could win something."

"Sounds good to me" André volunteered. Cat reacted by making her "swash-buckling" noises again. Beck also sounded keen, though his girlfriend was less eager.

"Yeah that's not gonna happen" she observed.

"I see you don't slap _his_ head" Robbie complained.

"_He's_ not a moron" she shot back.

"Heh heh, she's got you there Robbie" Rex told his handler.

"Whatever. Anyway" the brunette turned back to Sikowitz and smiled at him. The teacher took a step back and donned a nervous expression. "What if we… form a ping pong team, take the fifteen hundred bucks the school gives us, spend four hundred of it on a trophy, save the principal's job and use the rest to take our _favourite teacher_" she broadened her smile "to the restaurant Cat told us about."

"I'm in" Sikowitz confirmed instantly.

Jade looked to her peers with a satisfied smile. Beck rolled his eyes, Freddie grimaced uncomfortably but Cat clapped her hands and gave a small cheer.

* * *

Freddie stood in his room, looking at his reflection in a full-length mirror. He was dressed in a white shirt with a blue tie and black dress pants. He smiled at the sight in the mirror and pulled on a black jacket to complete the look. He nodded to his reflection and felt that he would, at least, not look out of place when they all went for dinner at Maestro's the next evening. He smiled at the hope that Cat might be impressed by the way he looked as well.

A beeping from his computer drew his attention; the brown-haired teen walked back to his desk and sat down; seizing his mouse he clicked to accept the video chat request.

"Hey Carls" he greeted the brunette with a smile as her face appeared on the screen.

"Hi" she smiled back. "It's been a while since we last talked" she observed with a hint of sadness.

"I know; I've just been _insanely_ busy here with school and everything. My first performance as a writer and director…"

"Oh I wasn't blaming you for it Freddie – I've been really busy as well. School – and this really cute guy I'm dating" she smiled coyly.

"That's great Carls, someone from your school?"

"Yeah, his name's Leon and he's a really sweet, smart guy. He's really into computers and techy stuff and he says he'll help me restart iCarly" she finished excitedly.

"So Sam's out of juvie already?"

"No, I think she's still there but one of my friends from Briarwood has said she'd love to do it with me" she shrugged. "So how about you? How did your play go? Anything else new in your life Freddie?"

"Yeah actually, the play went really well, I got an A on it. Wait, you _think_ Sam's still in juvie?" he looked curiously at the brunette.

"Yeah… I visited her a couple of times just after she was sent there but I've not seen her in about a month since I started making new friends at Briarwood and getting busy with school" she admitted. "I'll have to try and get there sometime" she mused softly. "So, back to you…" she forced her smile back into place and returned her gaze to him.

"Well…" he took a breath and looked at her, realising as he did that something had changed inside, that he could look at her without the yearning desperation for her approval or her love "I just started dating one of the girls I go to school with. I'm actually going out for dinner with her, and some of my other friends – so it's not a _date_ – tomorrow. I'll be wearing this, does it look ok?" and he stood up to give his friend a good view of his outfit.

"Well look at you all dressed up!" she teased. "You look great Freddie. So who's the girl?" If Freddie had been looking at the screen at that moment, rather than sitting back down, he'd have seen her smile drop, just for a split-second before she forced it back into place.

"Her name's Cat; she's pretty and sweet and we like each other. It's very early but things are going quite well at the moment" he smiled.

"I'm glad" the brunette forced herself to say in a calm voice. "Maybe you could invite her over next time we talk so I can meet her?" she suggested.

"I'll ask her" he replied thoughtfully. "She recognised me from iCarly so, obviously, she used to watch it; I'm sure she'd love to meet you and say hi."

_I'd like to meet __her__ too_ thought the web-hostess grimly.

"Carly! Carly! Carl-aaaaaaaa-y" her older brother's voice could be clearly heard as he raced into her bedroom performing a ridiculous jig as he arrived.

"What's up Spencer?" the brunette laughed.

"You're talking to Freddie? Oh hey Freddie."

"Hey Spence" the younger man returned.

"Great timing. Grab your laptop and come downstairs."

"Why?" the confused web hostess asked with a snigger.

"You'll see. Hurry!" he called as he dashed out of her room.

"I guess we're going downstairs" she told Freddie as she picked up her laptop.

Arriving in the living area of the Shay apartment, one thing immediately struck the girl.

"Uh Spencer? Where's the couch? And what's that heap of junk doing here instead?"

"That is not junk!" The artist was scandalised. "It's an actual fighter from the movie _Galaxy Wars_. Are you jealous Freddie?" he called to the computer.

"Carly, can I have a look?" he asked eagerly. The brunette rolled her eyes and turned the webcam towards the prop.

"Uh, what's that written on the side?" he asked as the screen scanned the vessel.

"'Not an actual prop from the movie _Galaxy Wars_'" Carly read.

"What? NOOOOOOOOOOO!" screamed her brother. A thousand miles away Freddie shook his head and chuckled.

* * *

The Hollywood Arts "ping pong team", led by captain Jade West (despite Freddie being the best player in the group she claimed the captain's job as the team was her idea – a point that Robbie wasn't willing to argue, particularly as Rex refused to back him up) boarded Sikowitz's minibus as they prepared to head for their "competition" (they would in reality, of course, return to school late that night after visiting a store Jade found downtown – Triple R Engraving, picking up the trophy she'd ordered with the school's name and "Southern California High School Ping Pong Champions" written large on it) and enjoyed their meal at Maestro's. During their time downtown the kids – and Sikowitz – snuck into the fitting rooms at one of the department stores and changed out of their new ping pong uniforms and into the more formal clothes that they had brought with them. Freddie and Beck traded smiles as they emerged together.

"Looking good Freddie" the tall, long-haired teen complimented him.

"You too" he smiled. "You wanted to look good for Jade?"

Beck laughed but refused to contradict his observation. The two friends left the rooms and waited for the rest of the group. Freddie's jaw dropped as Cat emerged, grinning nervously, a few moments later. The red velvet-haired girl was wearing a slim-fitting dress of shocking pink that extended to just below her knees; she held a dark pink handbag and wore matching shoes with a couple of inches of heels. She had also tied her hair back in a ponytail for the night.

"You look amazing" Freddie whispered as she reached him.

"You're really handsome yourself" she giggled back, tugging gently and playfully on his lapels.

"Hey" Jade announced as she emerged to join the little gathering. All eyes turned to her and took in the look of her clad in a figure-hugging dark blue and black dress; it was a little longer than Cat's, finishing half-way down her shins. She finished off the outfit with black, four-inch heeled shoes and the sight of her left Beck literally speechless. The dark brunette smirked at her gaping boyfriend. "I'll take that as a compliment" she laughed, planting a chaste kiss on his cheek and taking his hand.

Freddie and Cat traded looks; wordlessly he offered his hand, which Cat took, and they followed their friends out of the store.

"Back in the van children" declared their eccentric teacher when he joined the group at the vehicle. They filed in and the acting teacher drove to the restaurant.

Cat smiled as she walked into Maestro's; her mouth was already watering at the prospect of another excellent meal here.

"Good evening sir" the Maitre d' greeted Sikowitz. "Table for seven?"

The teacher nodded despite Rex's protestation that there were eight of them and they followed their host to a large table near the back of the restaurant. A waitress appeared moments later, proffering menus and taking drinks orders from the party.

A couple of hours later the teens, and Sikowitz, were all full and sated from an excellent meal.

"That really was _awesome_" Freddie told Cat as he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. "I'm gonna regret finishing the _whole_ dessert." As usual, the bubbly teen's response was to giggle at him.

"I told you that the lobster mashed potatoes were to die for." They all mumbled their agreement, too full to engage in extended conversation. "Oh hey, the live music's about to start" she noted, turning towards the piano. The rest followed her gaze and trained their attention on the young singer being accompanied by an accomplished pianist. Freddie smiled as he saw Cat close her eyes and, quietly and subconsciously, sing along with the live entertainment.

"Say Freddie" André piped up as Sikowitz paid the check and they prepared to leave. "Were you for real about a fencing team here?"

"I guess" he shrugged. "I mean, I'm getting into it at the studio I go to once a week – and I'm getting better at it. I don't know that there'd be enough interest at school for a full team but it's something I enjoy doing."

"Mind if I tag along next time you go?"

"I'd quite like to have a go as well, if it's ok with you" Beck spoke up, causing Jade to roll her eyes at him.

"Seriously?" she asked.

"Yeah" he said. "It sounds like fun _and_ it would be good to learn some skills and stances for if we did any plays that involved sword fighting."

"I think it sounds like a wonderful idea" Sikowitz interjected.

"Ok then" Freddie said to the two boys. "I have my lesson on a Wednesday night so if you get to my place around six, or come straight from school if you like – we can get our homework done before we go out maybe? Then we can head down there together."

"Sounds like a plan" the dread-locked singer enthused. Beck nodded his agreement.

* * *

**AN: Liked it? Hated it? Pleas don't be shy about letting me know and I hope to see you all with the next update this time next week.**


	9. Chapter 8

**AN: Welcome, everyone, to the latest chapter of this story. I hope you all had a good week. **

**Agent-M-0167 – I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter. Involving Freddie in the scam made sense as he's a part of the group now. He was a little reluctant but they managed to talk him into it. Whether a fencing team materialises is something we'll have to find out in due course. As for Sam, indeed – for the others, life has gone on without her.**

**Challenge King – you noticed that too, huh?**

**BushwellFanNYC, unknown, ImNotThomas – since you all asked so nicely for a continuation, here we are.**

* * *

"Sinjin!" called Sikowitz as the bell signalled the end of the lesson. The light-haired, bespectacled teen hung back as his classmates began to file out of the room. Freddie, his curiosity piqued, hovered by the door looking curiously at the pair for a second before a tug on his wrist urged him to leave the room. Cat's hand slid from his wrist to interlace her fingers with his and the teenage couple set off after their peers, the red-haired girl swinging their linked arms exaggeratedly as they walked.

"Sinjin" Sikowitz repeated. "How would you..." he rolled his arms rapidly in front of his chest before pointing his right index finger towards the boy as he extended the arm "like to earn some extra credit tomorrow?"

"Uh what would I have to do?" the tech savvy teen enquired. He admitted to himself that the extra credit would certainly help; he was gifted away from the stage but his performing grades were threatening to derail his Grade Point Average.

"A prospective new student is auditioning after school" the eccentric teacher explained. "She would be a transfer; a direct entry into the 10th grade class. Would you like to help with the stage management of the audition?"

"Yeah, sure, I can do that" the freshman replied enthusiastically; it wasn't a terribly difficult sounding assignment so he figured the credit would be easy and that it would come in useful later on.

Meanwhile Cat was excitedly making her own plans for the following evening; she had seen a flyer in the mall the previous weekend that had garnered her attention; an event was taking place that she was eager to see.

* * *

"I can't _believe_ you talked me into this" grumbled Freddie as Cat led him by the hand across the Green Meadow mall. The two had headed there after school, at Cat's insistence, for a date. Freddie, as much as he enjoyed being alone with his new girlfriend, was already feeling that he would regret this _particular_ one.

"It'll be fun" she cried excitedly. "And we can go to the Pear Store afterwards" she negotiated with an uncharacteristically sly smile, one that caused him to roll his eyes in acquiescence. She giggled and pulled him along with her.

The bubbly girl steered them into the middle of the mall; a small stage had been assembled a few feet away. A cursory glance around told Freddie all he needed to know. He and Cat were the only people there, other than a handful of parents (most of whom looked about as happy to be there as he did), who were over the age of five.

"Ok kids" a voice called out from behind the curtain at the back of the stage "let's give a big, Green Meadow mall welcome for… The Waggafuffles!"

Freddie's groans were drowned out by the excited cheers of the children in front of him, and those of the red velvet-haired girl by his side; she was clapping, cheering and bouncing at least as much and as loudly as any of the younger kids. The brown-haired boy found himself wishing that he could be absolutely anywhere else by this point.

* * *

"Wagga, wagga, wagga wag; you fuffle left and right. Wagga, wagga, wagga wag; you fuffle day and night" Cat sang jovially as they walked away from the stage at the conclusion of the show. Freddie was torn between amusement and embarrassment at her antics as he held her hand and led her towards the Pear Store; at the moment embarrassment was winning comfortably as he tried desperately to ignore the quizzical looks that other shoppers were giving the pair as he did (and particularly the looks he was getting from patrons of their own age). It was, of course, impossible to pretend that he wasn't with her while he held her hand, so he settled for wishing that the ground would open up and swallow them. He released her hand when they entered the Pear Store as he went to browse over the new phones and PearPads on display; Cat, meanwhile, entertained herself by humming softly as she browsed the web on one of the store's display model laptops.

When the girl tired of doing so she scanned the store and found her boyfriend on the other side of it; he was still checking out some of the gadgetry that was for sale. She hovered by his elbow until finally, once Freddie had gotten the message and 'decided' that he had seen all he wanted to, she took his hand again and they left the store.

"You want to get something to eat?" she asked as they passed close by the food court.

"Sure" he agreed and they changed course to hit up a couple of the stands. Cat, as usual, opted for Chinese (sweet-and-sour) with Freddie trying the Cajun stand. They pooled their purchases and enjoyed a meal and each other's company as they chatted idly about school, performances and rehearsing for the play they were involved in.

* * *

"So Sinjin" Freddie greeted his friend the following morning in the Asphalt Café; Cat and the others had yet to arrive so the ex-iCarly tech producer joined him at a table. "How was the extra assignment last night?"

"Uh it was…" he trailed off. "There's a new student coming here" he began again. "She seemed to be quite talented – and rather humble." Then the bespectacled teen's expression changed to one of bewilderment as he continued "I'm not entirely sure though because I felt really dizzy last night so I may have dreamed some of it."

Freddie stared at him in utter bewilderment due to what he deemed some rather incoherent ramblings on Sinjin's part. He was about to press the issue when a high-pitched squeal and the sound of feet running towards him drew his attention. He turned to see Cat bounding towards them; she arrived and slid neatly next to him on his side of the table, slipping an arm around him.

"Hey Freddie."

"Hey Cat" he smiled back at her and drew her in to a brief hug. "So, this girl…" he began, turning back to Sinjin.

"See for yourself; she's walking over here now."

Cat and Freddie turned to see an attractive brunette strutting confidently, some would say arrogantly, across the café in their direction.

"Time to show this school what I can do!" she declared to herself and, ignoring the 9th graders completely, she headed inside singing in a voice that even the freshmen could tell was decidedly off-key.

"That's her – Trina Vega." Sinjin told them.

"I thought you said she was talented." Freddie accused as Cat laughed by his side.

"She _was_" he insisted, though the look on his face suggested he doubted his own word now. "Though after she sang I remember the stage light coming loose and hitting her."

"WHAT?" the pair asked in simultaneous incredulity.

"I think so anyway; it's all a bit fuzzy because, as I said, I felt dizzy and uh… I kinda woke up with Lane and Principal Eikner removing my face from the soda machine."

"One day I'm going to learn not to ask questions" Freddie muttered as he shook his head. Nobody heard him because Jade and Beck chose that moment to join them at the table; Cat greeted her best friend exuberantly, drowning out anything Freddie may have had to say.

* * *

After another routine week at school (or as routine as Hollywood Arts could get) Friday evening saw Freddie invite Cat over. His mother was working late so they had the place to themselves and took advantage of the quiet to begin by rehearsing their parts in the play, reading through their lines together and then trying to do a couple of the scenes without their scripts in front of them. Freddie had planned a little surprise for his girlfriend so he called a halt to their activity just before 8 p.m. and suggested they goof around on-line for a while.

"'kay 'kay" she cried happily and got them drinks from the kitchen while he raced upstairs to gather his laptop. Freddie surprised her slightly by opening up the web chat software and logging in.

"You're going to talk to someone? Who? You want me to go?" She felt a little hurt that he was planning on having a conversation with someone while they were supposed to be hanging together.

"No, no, you don't have to go" he reassured her, gently seizing her upper arm as she made to get up and leave. "Oh, here she is" noted Freddie as Carly's screen name appeared in his list of contacts who are currently on-line. Cat relaxed back into the couch next to him as he clicked on her name and sent a chat request; clearly it was accepted because a window opened with the brunette's smiling face looking at them.

"Hey Carls." Freddie greeted her.

"Hi Carly; oh wow it's really you!" gushed the red velvet-haired girl. "I used to love iCarly, it was great!"

"Uh thanks... Cat is it?" Carly replied awkwardly, feeling a little ambushed by her ebullience. "Unfortunately we can't do any more right now."

"Oh phooey."

"Weren't you saying you might start it up again?" Freddie asked curiously.

"I was talking about it with my friend, and my boyfriend, but we've not made any decision just yet."

"Well I hope you do" Cat encouraged. They chatted amiably for a few minutes, mostly Carly and Freddie – though Cat interjected regularly when they were discussing life in Los Angeles and at Hollywood Arts – before the LA-based duo were distracted by a beep on the red-haired girl's cellphone. She read the newly delivered message and turned to Freddie "Oh I gotta go, my mom's waiting. See you tomorrow." She gave him a peck on the lips and they shared a giggle. "Bye Carly" she called, waving at the screen as she got up.

Freddie muttered "back in a minute" to the brunette and walked Cat to the door, watching as she skipped to her mother's car and got in, giving him a wave and a smile as they pulled away; he returned both before heading back indoors and returning to his computer.

"So…" Carly began awkwardly, looking at her friend.

"That's Cat." he smiled back.

"Not exactly the type of girl I envisioned you dating." she noted.

"Why not?" he asked curiously.

"I dunno, she just seems a bit… dizzy."

"She's bubbly and fun and she's a really nice girl. I like her and I'm happy." Freddie was starting to feel a little defensive and was getting the impression that Carly was unhappy with the girl he was dating.

"So anyway, what else is new with you?" she asked; her desperate attempts to change the subject were suitably blatant to not go unnoticed.

"No Carls, come on, out with it. What's your problem with Cat? You're dating a Briarwood guy, I'm happy for you. Why can't you be happy for me for dating a girl I like and who likes me back?"

Carly did an adequate goldfish impression; her mouth opened and closed but no sound came out.

"What is it? You don't want me but don't want me to move on and be happy? You want me to be your little love-sick puppy for ever? Is that all I am to you?" The look on her face, he concluded, was telling; his expression darkened in a heartbeat. "Well at least I know where I stand with you now Carly and just how much you _really_ think of me, thanks a lot" and with that he signed off. He declined her immediate request to re-establish the chat and closed the software down altogether when she tried again. The young tech producer leaned back on the couch, closed his eyes and let out a long breath. Opening his eyes again he lay down, staring at the ceiling and fuming silently.

The former iCarly member's mood lifted overnight; he was troubled by the fact that neither Carly nor Marissa approved of him dating Cat but he reasoned to himself that they would have to live with it; he was very fond of her and if other people didn't like the idea of them as a couple then they would just have to live with it.

The main reason for his happier mood was that he was planning on spending the whole day with her; they were going to hang at her house with Beck and Jade in the morning before seeing a movie in the afternoon. Finally they'd return to his place for a while; his mother would be working all day so they would have the place to themselves to do some more homework, rehearse their parts and just spend a little more time together. He looked out of his bedroom window and saw that it was another bright day. Checking his phone he saw the weather forecast was for a pleasant day so he opted to wear just a T-shirt with some light pants. He ate a quick breakfast and, leaving his mother sleeping upstairs (she had another shift to work today as the hospital was short-staffed at the moment) he headed for his girlfriend's home.

He arrived just before Beck and Jade; the quartet made a good start on their homework and, by the time they broke for lunch, they had finished pretty much all the homework that they had to do. As a reward they decided to head out immediately after they had eaten and catch an earlier showing of the movie they wanted to see and spent a little time walking around the stores by the cinema. Freddie, walking with his arm around Cat, laughed as Jade spent the afternoon picking holes in the plot of the movie and generally criticising it; something that caused Beck to roll his eyes at her more than once. Like Freddie, the long-haired actor had his arm around his girlfriend's waist.

"I loved it!" Cat complained as Jade's critique finally got to her.

"It was stupid" she snarled back. "It made no sense."

"Well it won't if you're grumbling and complaining all the way through it" Beck shot at her, beginning to tire of her complaints.

"What did you think Freddie?" Cat enquired swiftly, eager to head off an argument.

"I've seen better and seen worse" he observed neutrally. "It had its moments but it wasn't as funny as I thought it would be" he finished with a shrug.

"He agrees with me that it was lame" Jade told Beck with a satisfied smirk. The other three exchanged looks; Freddie chuckled at Beck's exasperation and pulled Cat a little closer to him as she groaned at her friend's views.

Eventually the afternoon was over and the couples went their separate ways. Arriving at his home Freddie began reheating a quick dinner of left-overs for the two of them. They chatted while they ate before retiring again to the couch in the living room to watch some TV.

Freddie slipped his arm around Cat's shoulders and pulled the red-head closer to him on the couch. He looked towards her and smiled as she relaxed next to him. She turned towards him and he matched her move. The brown-haired boy leaned towards her and their lips met, gently at first but both were happy to slowly explore the sensation as they varied the pressure of the contact. Cat closed her eyes and allowed Freddie to take charge of the soft kisses, though she kept her mouth closed for now.

The teens' activities were to be interrupted as Mrs Benson arrived home and walked into the living room, her eyes immediately falling on the pair kissing on her couch. The Benson matriarch let out a shriek, which caused them to jump apart in surprise.

"What are you doing to my Freddie?" she demanded of the red-haired girl. "You'll be getting his boy chemistry all out of whack acting like that towards him."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" the red-haired girl asked in an even higher pitched voice than normal. The Benson matriarch failed to answer her; instead she gathered up a hand towel from the radiator and advanced on them. Cat's eyes widened in shock and Freddie leapt to his feet, putting himself between his mother and his girlfriend.

"No mom, you are not beating Cat off me with a towel" he said firmly.

"I think I should go" the teenage girl commented.

"You don't have to…" Freddie began over his shoulder before his mother interrupted.

"Ok goodbye, see you some other time."

A shaky and slightly scared Cat slipped past the bickering Bensons and walked out of their home, pulling her cellphone from her jeans pocket to call her own mother to collect her. She sat on the driveway, drew her knees up to her chin and hugged her legs as she looked sadly over the city.

"Sorry about her" a soft voice called from behind her. She turned to see her boyfriend looking at her from the doorway, a miserable look on his face. He walked up to her and sat down next to her, slipping his arm around her again.

"Why does she hate me?" she asked, leaning against his shoulder.

"She doesn't hate _you_; she doesn't want me dating _anyone_. Please don't take it personally."

Cat made no comment but gave his thigh a gentle squeeze and smiled at him. The teens sat in silence for a few minutes before Mrs Valentine arrived in her car. Cat leaned over and pecked Freddie on the lips before getting up and walking to the car, waving to her boy as she got in.

During the ride home she was less bubbly than usual; this caused her mother to enquire about what was wrong. She explained that she and Mrs Benson had had a disagreement but didn't elaborate. Needing to cheer herself up she logged on to her computer as soon as she got home and opened the video chat software. She knew, from the earlier discussion, what Carly's screen-name was and had e-mailed the former web hostess the previous night asking to add her as a contact. Carly had agreed (Cat was, of course, unaware of the argument between her and Freddie that had broken out after she left) and, as the brunette was on-line, Cat requested a chat.

A thousand miles north, the Seattle-based girl eyed the chat request with a malicious grin on her face. She quickly forced her face into a more sincere-looking smile as she accepted, causing the window opened revealing Freddie's girlfriend.

"Hello Cat! It's so good to see you again" she greeted, unable to keep the devious edge out of her voice.

* * *

**AN: Poor Cat; it looks like the girls in Freddie's life aren't too keen on her dating him. Liked it? Let me know. Hated it? Let me know that instead. See you all next week.**


	10. Chapter 9

**AN: Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of this story; I hope you've all had a pleasant week. As usual I would like to thank you all for reading and, in particular, thank those who reviewed the previous chapter.**

**Agent-M-0167 – Romeo and Juliet? Well I'm not sure there'll be any feuding families or teen suicides but certainly there are a couple of people who are not happy about Freddie dating Cat.**

**Digidestend Angel – I'm glad you like the pairing.**

**Challenge King – I'm glad you liked Freddie's realisation; Carly certainly didn't…**

**And now on with the story.**

* * *

Freddie arrived at Hollywood Arts on the Monday morning feeling a little apprehensive; he hadn't heard from Cat since she had fled his house on Saturday night – since his mother had tried to attack her with a towel. The brown-haired teenager was worried about how she would be feeling after the events of that night. He scanned the Asphalt Café but saw no sign of his red-headed girlfriend, or any of his other friends, so he made his way into school and began organising his locker for the week ahead. He moved books to and from his bag, closed the locker and stood up, just as he heard Jade's terse tones behind him; the brunette's voice was a little milder than usual, however, as she was talking to Beck. The former tech producer turned to face her and saw Cat walking alongside the couple; he immediately noticed that her smile seemed a little more forced and unnatural than usual. He smiled at her and stepped towards the new arrivals, leaning in to give his girl a peck on the cheek, only to be surprised as she pulled away from him.

"Are you still upset at what my mom did on Saturday night?" he asked her softly, looking straight at her and immediately registering that she was unable or unwilling to meet his gaze.

"It's not just her Freddie, it's Carly too." Her boy's brow furrowed in confusion. "I spoke to her on Saturday when I got home and she said… some stuff." The girl with the red velvet hair lost her usual happy disposition and her face dropped markedly. "Why does everyone you know hate me?" she asked, almost in tears. "I can't date you, Freddie, if it means everyone is going to hate me!"

Freddie's stomach plunged; he felt like heaving up his breakfast at her words. His mind was too busy processing her last statement to comprehend what she had said about Carly. "You're breaking up with me?" he asked with a blend of shock and trepidation.

"I'm sorry Freddie" she said softly, patting his upper arm gently a couple of times. He nodded sadly.

"I understand" he told her in an empty, emotionless voice.

Cat turned and crossed the hallway towards her own locker. Freddie stared after her, squaring his jaw to keep the tears he felt out of his own eyes.

"She likes _you_" Jade leaned towards him and told him in a surprisingly soft voice. It's the rest of the chizz that she just can't cope with. She cried for an hour on the phone with me yesterday about your mom and Carly."

"What did Carly say to her?" he asked, surprising himself that his voice was curious rather than furious.

"She wouldn't – or couldn't – say" the multi-colour streaked hair girl stated. "She just cried harder when I asked her."

The LA immigrant turned towards his locker, working hard to suppress the desire to pound it with his fist. _What the hell did she say?_ He wondered. _Why did those two_ (his mother and Carly) _have to be like this?_

"I'll see you guys later" he choked out before turning and heading for class under a huge cloud; he was thankful that he was in a different first period to the rest of them today.

Most of the gang had a Spanish class and took the opportunity to rally around Cat, having seen how miserable the red-haired girl was. Robbie, in particular, was trying to be sympathetic; his motives were completely transparent to a scowling Jade but Cat missed his hints completely, merely thanking him for being sweet with his suggestion that she deserves to be around "people who will be nice to her all the time" and a consoling pat on her arm.

"Struck out again" commented Rex at Cat's response. Jade leaned forward as if to make a comment to the curly-haired ventriloquist; Beck put a restraining hand on her upper arm and she looked at him for a moment before relenting and leaning back in her seat.

The rest of the group were more circumspect in their support; they backed Cat without criticising Freddie (after all, they considered the tech producer to be a friend and had seen that the two were happy together). Jade herself expressed the hope that Mrs Benson would come round and that she shouldn't give up on the boy just yet but Cat was unusually resolute; she couldn't deal with people hating her, which meant she couldn't deal with dating Freddie. Jade felt upset for her friends but wasn't going to try to browbeat the girl into anything. She settled for putting a consoling hand on the red velvet-haired girl's shoulder, grimacing slightly as the child-like teen leant against her arm in response; the sight caused Beck to chuckle softly at her discomfort, a chuckle that earned the long-haired actor a glower from his girlfriend.

As down as he was over his break-up, Freddie's classes were continuing to go well; he stayed focussed in the morning's first period, his directing class. He noted that Lindsey still seemed troubled and distant; clearly the blonde had yet to get over her own break-up with Ryder. He was glad of the distraction and the opportunity to focus all his attention on the teacher, making notes and putting all thoughts of the girl with the red velvet-hair and her beautiful smile to one side.

After what had been a difficult morning, Freddie joined his friends for lunch in the rec room as normal; Cat was playing ping pong with Jade, laughing as they knocked the ball to one another and seeming much more like her usual self. Freddie suspected that Jade was going easy on her friend, something that she seemed to confirm by responding to Cat winning a point with a couple of vicious serves and blows that had the red-haired girl squealing and diving for cover. This caused Cat to call an abrupt halt to the game; the girls set the bats down on the table and headed to the side of the room to join the others, Jade smirking openly. Cat cast her eye over the group and, noticing Freddie sat at the end of the row, made her way smartly to the opposite end where she sat next to Beck before scooting over to make room for Jade to sit next to her boyfriend. Her actions caused Freddie to turn his gaze towards the door; nobody in the room saw the look of hurt on his face or the tears threatening to well in his eyes again as a result of today's events. Even among his friends the former Seattleite felt utterly alone and it hurt him to be in the same room as the effervescent girl.

The afternoon worsened for him as the gang were together in Sikowitz's class. The balding teacher raised his eyebrows seeing his students arrive and Freddie make his way to the other side of the room, sitting nowhere near Cat. He saw the girl throw a quick, regretful glance in the brown-haired boy's direction before taking her customary seat next to Jade. The teacher made a mental note to make sure that things weren't too bad between them – there was a chance that they would both have to be in his play and, with all the will in the world, 9th graders had not usually mastered the compartmentalisation needed to put any ill feeling to one side during a play; he did not want anything to happen that might jeopardise a big production for the school.

Finally his torturous day ended and Freddie made a swift exit. Arriving at home he immediately loaded up his laptop, logged on to the web chat facility and scanned his contact list. Seeing Carly's screen name there he almost broke his mouse with the speed and venom he put into requesting a chat. He gritted his teeth as she appeared on his screen, trying desperately to keep his emotions in check while they conversed.

"Hey Freddie" she beamed. "How are you?"

"Not too good" he admitted, his mask immediately slipping. "Cat broke up with me today." His shoulders slumped involuntarily; had he been acting he couldn't have done misery any more convincingly.

"Oh?" the brunette's tone was curious and her face impassive.

"Oh? That's all you can say? Oh? _She broke up with me_ Carly, and she said that _you_ were part of the reason. What you said to her was, anyway."

"Ah who cares" Carly smiled, waving a hand dismissively at the webcam, a feeling of triumph bubbling in her stomach. "You can do way better than that crazy chick anyway."

"Who cares?" Freddie was almost dumbstruck by her flippancy. "_Who cares?_ _I_ care, Carly! I really like her and _you_ wrecked it for me!" His voice had risen in volume considerably now, enough for Carly to retreat slightly from the screen – either because she momentarily feared Freddie might leap through the screen at her or perhaps thinking Seattle wasn't quite far enough from his anger and an extra few feet were necessary. "Why would you be so mean to her – and why would you do this to me?" he demanded.

When the girl he used to crush on could only gape at the screen and offer no reply Freddie shook his head. "Even when I was chasing you I never tried to wreck any relationships of yours, because I just wanted you to be happy. Now I can see that you don't want that for me, that you couldn't care less about how I'm feeling or about my happiness – all you want for me is to be at your beck and call, chasing you and making you feel wanted. I don't know why I ever thought I loved you Carly" he concluded in absolute heartbroken disgust.

Eleven hundred miles away the web hostess looked stunned at the outburst from her long-standing romantic "Plan B" as the brown-haired boy abruptly clicked off their chat. Her joyful feeling was fading rapidly as his words sank in. She was unable to react as she reeled from his last, deep-cutting blast, merely staring at the screen as he closed the window and logged out. She swallowed twice and reached into the pocket of her jeans, drawing out her pearphone. She opened the device and paused for a moment, deliberating over what to say, before she punched in the 4th number on her speed-dial to make the call, holding her breath and going over exactly what she was going to say as it rang before, after three rings, it abruptly stopped. _Call failed_ the screen of her phone informed her. Frowning, the brunette repeated the process and put the device to her ear.

"_This number is currently unavailable._" She jumped as the automated voice spoke to her. "_Please leave a message for_ – Freddie – " she smiled involuntarily as she heard his more usual, joyful voice, however briefly "_after the tone_."

Carly rang off again. Now that Freddie had switched his phone off, she reasoned, she at least had a little time to compose her thoughts. She closed her eyes and let out a long breath as she folded her arms on her desk and rested her head on them. She thought for a few moments before scribbling a few words on a notepad on her desk. Happy with what she'd written, she began drafting an e-mail. The brunette read it through but, before she sent it, she dialled his number once again.

Stewing with anger from his encounter, Freddie left home and headed for the Fencing Studio; he was due to meet André and Beck in a couple of hours but decided to get there earlier and work off some of his frustrations and temper. He would have to confront his mother on her part later and wanted to make sure he had a chance to cool down beforehand; arguing with Carly was one thing – he never had to see or speak to her again if it came to it, living under the same roof as his mother meant that wasn't going to be an option. He arrived and saw an older boy sat watching others sparring, dressed in full equipment, holding his mask and sword in his lap.

"You want to spar?" Freddie asked. The older teen looked at him as if he was a little crazy for challenging him.

"Sure" he said lightly.

"Give me one minute to get ready" Freddie smiled and headed for the locker room.

He returned, fully attired, and the two made their way to a vacant mat. His opponent started cockily, fully expecting to comfortably defeat the younger fencer and was stunned by a furious burst from Freddie that blew through his guard and landed a quick touch. Freddie had to control himself enough to not exert too much pressure on the other combatant's chest as he released some of the tension and fury he felt in the sparring.

Taking Freddie far more seriously, the older teen was cautious and nimble on his feet but no match for a boy sparring like a man possessed.

"Whoa dude, take it easy" the elder teen chided, removing his mask after another vicious assault from his 14-year-old opponent. Freddie removed his own mask, revealing that he was breathing heavily. "You ok?" he asked with a little concern.

"Yeah," the brown-haired boy gasped "I just needed to take my frustrations out – you're bearing the brunt of it. I'm sorry."

The older boy shrugged and headed to the side of the room to join his friends, who had finished their own bout; he shook his head at the thought of the crazy kid who was treating a sparring session like it was the Olympic Gold Medal match. At the same time the door opened and André and Beck entered together, greeting a handful of people they knew by sight as they did.

"Hey Freddie!" the songsmith called across the room. "Starting without us today?"

"I needed to blow off some steam" he explained sourly.

Beck nodded in understanding; he had heard more of the story from Jade, though the brunette had still been unable to prise any specifics of what Carly had said from the red-head.

"You good to go again?" he asked his friend. Freddie nodded so the two newcomers headed to the locker room to get ready.

* * *

"Whoa Freddie, take it easy" André begged as his guard was pulverised again by his 'foe' and he found himself on his back looking up at his friend. Freddie was still taking his anger out on anyone daft enough to stand in front on him; he had easily overmatched Beck earlier and, despite sparring with his third opponent, was still more than a match for anyone in the room. A number of older, more experienced protagonists were watching him with guarded expressions, unused to seeing someone so young spar so well and with so much intensity.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, offering his hand to pull the musician up. "I guess I'm just not in the mood to play nicely today." He tucked his epee under his arm and walked to the bleachers, taking a seat well away from anybody else and resting his chin on his cupped hands, with his elbows on his knees, and staring moodily at the ground.

Beck and André shared worried glances. "I'll talk to Jade" the long-haired student said. "Maybe she can talk to Cat and try to bring her round."

"Can't hurt" his friend supplied. "Man, it sucks to see him like this – and she was so upset in class too."

The pair watched helplessly as a disconsolate-looking Freddie got up and headed for the locker room, waving to them as he left; they took the gesture to mean that they weren't expected to follow him. The two teens looked at one another and Beck pulled his facemask over his head; André responded by doing likewise and they raised their weapons to begin a practise session against one another.

* * *

"Hey" Jade answered her pearphone, smiling at the voice on the other end of the call.

"Yeah I'm there now" she answered the other's question. "Yes, I was going to do that. I'm not sure it'll do any good but I agree. Ok, you too, bye."

She rang the doorbell and waited impatiently.

"Oh hello Jade."

"Hi Mrs Valentine. Is Cat home?"

"Yes, yes, she is. Come in."

Cat's mother stood aside to allow her daughter's friend entry to their home. "I'm glad you're here Jade, she's been really down since she got home."

"Has she said much about it?" the brunette teen enquired.

"No, but I'm guessing it has to do with why she was so upset Saturday night and yesterday. Something to do with Freddie." Her expression darkened unusually.

"I don't think it's _Freddie_," Jade defended the boy "but it _is_ to do with the circus that seems to surround him. You've met his mom right?" Mrs Valentine nodded. "She wasn't too happy when she saw the two of them kissing on Saturday."

"Yes, Cat told me that in the car. Something about chasing her with a towel?" She shook her head in disbelief.

"Yeah, then she also spoke to a girl Freddie knows from Seattle – Carly. Apparently he used to have quite a crush on her; I'm guessing she doesn't like being replaced and said something to Cat."

"She's a sensitive girl" her mother conceded.

"Yeah, so between the two of them they made her decide that dating Freddie's not worth the chizz she's going to get."

The Valentine matriarch nodded. "Well if you could cheer her up, Jade, that would be great."

"I'll do my best" she promised and made her way upstairs to the red-head's room. The door was open and she saw her friend lying on her bed cuddling the stuffed giraffe that Freddie had bought her when they visited the zoo over the summer.

The brunette knocked gently on the door and leaned inside. "Hey" she whispered softly.

"Oh hey Jade" Cat responded miserably, which Jade took as an invitation to enter. She pulled up Cat's desk chair by the end of her bed and sat on it, watching at her tired-looking friend.

"How are you?"

"Upset."

"I just spoke to Beck; Freddie's upset too. Beck says he almost took him and André apart at the Fencing Studio."

Cat said nothing at this but hugged the giraffe closer to her, sucking on its nose as she thought. Jade waited on her reply and finally the red-head whispered out "I miss him."

"Then talk to him" Jade supplied.

"I can't, it hurts too much" she wailed. "What his mom did and what Carly said – I don't wanna have to deal with them but I miss _him_."

"What _did_ Carly say?" the gothic girl asked curiously. Cat didn't answer but dissolved into a fresh wave of tears, pulling the giraffe even closer to her as she rocked back and forth on her bed.

Jade watched helplessly for a few seconds before sliding to her friend's side and placing a hand on her shoulder. Cat reached up and pulled her into a hug, righting herself into a sitting position on the bed as she did. The taller girl awkwardly wrapped her arms around Cat's back and patted it gently as she continued to sob.

Eventually Cat's tears subsided; Jade released her and sat next to her on the bed allowing her to lean on her shoulder.

"She's asleep" Jade told Mrs Valentine as she returned to the living room a little later. "I wasn't able to cheer her up though; she's still really upset about the whole thing."

"Ok, well thanks for trying Jade. Would you like a ride home?" she asked.

"No it's fine; it's not too far to walk. Goodnight."

With that Jade left the Valentine residence. The girl was deep in thought as she covered the short distance back to her own home. She was wondering about how she could possibly help fix things between Cat and Freddie, about whether she _could_ possibly fix things between them. Despite her tough exterior she really did care about the feelings of her exuberant friend and it pained her to see the girl so miserable, especially when she was clearly so fond of Freddie and briefly dating the boy had made her happy. She shrugged mentally as she entered her house, deciding to sleep on it and to see what she could come up with in the morning.

* * *

"Freddie!" Marissa called out as the brown-eyed teen entered the Benson home. "Where have you been?"

"I was at the Fencing Studio" he answered sullenly, gesturing to the large equipment bag he was wielding. "I've eaten already so goodnight" and without another word he made his way upstairs leaving his mother staring after him and confused at his attitude.

"Freddie Benson, get back here!" she called angrily up the stairs; he responded by continuing upwards, entering his room, closing the door firmly (though not quite _slamming_ it) and locking it behind him. His mother quickly ascended the stairs and, after trying the locked door, began knocking on it.

"Freddie! Open this door!"

"No!"

"What?"

"You heard me. I don't want to see you and I don't want to talk to you."

"I am your mother and you'll do what I say. Now open the door!"

Silence followed; inside the room Freddie made no move towards the door, he merely unpacked his things and began getting ready for bed. He then checked his phone and deleted, unread, the latest text message from Carly. Glancing at his computer he noticed an e-mail from her; that too was deleted unopened. His mother continued to hammer on the door and call through it to him, he continued to ignore her.

"What is the _matter_ with you tonight?" she asked eventually in exasperated tones.

Finally he unlocked the door, opening it far enough to put his head through the gap.

"You really need to ask that?" he shot at her. "After what you did to Cat on Saturday night?"

"Oh that." The matriarch's tone was dismissive of her action.

"YES, _that_" Freddie snapped. "Because of _that_ – and something Carly did" he conceded quickly "she broke up with me. Are you satisfied now you've wrecked things for me?"

Without waiting for a reply the Hollywood Arts student pulled his head back into his room and closed and locked the door again, not seeing the triumphant smile flash briefly across his mother's face.

* * *

**Liked it? Hated it? Only one way to let me know. And I hope to see you all next week with Chapter 10.**Hh


	11. Chapter 10

**AN: Hello everyone and welcome to this week's chapter. I hope you are all well. As always I would like to thank all of you who took the time to review the previous chapter…**

**Challenge King – perhaps one day what Carly said will come to light. How bad it was is up to interpretation, but we all know how thin-skinned Cat is and that she doesn't take criticism well. It wouldn't be out of character for her to over-react.**

**Power214063 – Freddie's mother is happy because we know she doesn't like the idea of her son dating girls. As for Carly's feelings, if and when she appears in the story again they may get explored in more detail**

**Guest – thank you.**

**ylenia. troise – I **_**am**_** continuing and you **_**will**_** eventually get the answer to the Freddie/Cat question. Yeah, eventually…**

**Agent-M – you have it right about how our leading pair feel. Time will tell how it all works out.**

**Ok, I think that's everyone – on with the show.**

* * *

Freddie's mood was still very gloomy as he awoke the next day. He arrived at the breakfast table to see that his mom was already there.

"Good morning Freddie" she said calmly.

"Hi" he muttered. The Benson matriarch set a cup of coffee and a bowl of low-fat oatmeal before him and sat down on the other side of the table, looking at him as he steadfastly avoid her eye.

"Look Freddie, I know you're upset. You have to realise, though, I am your mother and I know what's best for you."

"Seriously?" he enquired, looking at her in disbelief. "You really think you know what's best for me and that dating Cat isn't it?"

"Yes" she shot at him. "That girl was no good for you; I'm not sorry about what happened. I guess I owe _Carly_" she almost spat out her son's former crush's name "a thank you for whatever she did."

"I can't believe this" he said, shaking his head. "I've got to go."

And with that Freddie left the table, picked up his bag from the foot of the stairs and left the house, ignoring his mother calling after him. He was still under a cloud when he arrived at school; he knew that his friends would be in the rec room playing some ping pong this morning but he had no desire to see them, to see _Cat_ any more than he had to; it hurt the brown-eyed teen too much to be around her at the moment, knowing how he felt about her and how much the people in his life had hurt her and sabotaged their fledgling relationship.

Instead of joining the gang, therefore, he headed straight to first period and entered what he assumed would be a deserted classroom. To his surprise, however, he saw that he wasn't the first arrival for this class; Lindsey was sat there. Her expression matched his mood (and possibly his own look) and his heart gave a small jolt as he looked at her; despite the look of misery on her face she was, unquestionably, a pretty girl. Blonde hair, green eyes, a nice, slender figure encased in a figure hugging pale blue shirt, tight, dark blue jeans and shin-length brown boots. Realising he was in danger of staring, Freddie snapped out of his growing reverie and made his way over to her, slipping into the seat next to her, as he had been doing recently during the class.

"Hey" he greeted her gently.

"Oh hey Freddie" the girl tried to smile but it fooled nobody.

"How's it going?" he asked awkwardly, mentally kicking himself as he knew things seemed pretty bad for her at the moment. She turned to look at him with a neutral expression.

"Oh you know" she shrugged before reverting to staring at the front of the room.

"I'll listen if you want to talk" he offered, causing her to turn back to him.

"It's just…" she held up her palms helplessly "Ryder." She spat the name from her throat as if it was choking her. "He's dating some other girl already; this dancer called Christine. I just can't believe he moved on so fast – or was he seeing her while he was supposed to be with me?" she asked rhetorically and shook her head.

"I think I've seen her around the school" Freddie said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, she's a _very_ good dancer – I've seen her in a couple of productions – and they're in dance class together. I wonder how long it's been going on with them two." She finished with a mirthless laugh.

The blonde finally took in the sour expression on Freddie's face. "What about you? What's upsetting you?" she asked curiously.

"The same thing" he said, his face falling further. "I'd just started dating one of the girls in my year – my mom didn't approve and nor did my fr- someone I _thought_ was a friend" he amended bitterly. "They both upset her – to the point where she decided I'm not worth it and broke up with me." His voice shook and he blinked rapidly to keep the tears from falling. "I'm sorry" he continued, taking a deep breath to compose himself. "I'm supposed to be consoling you and now I'm dumping on you instead."

She smiled and, at last, gave a genuine chuckle at this. "I asked" she whispered, putting her left hand on his right thigh and squeezing gently through his jeans. He turned his head towards her and saw her looking straight at him, an unfathomable expression on her face. She began leaning towards him, _as if she is about to kiss me_ the boy thought briefly, before the sound of the door handle turning caused the pair to pull quickly apart and Lindsey to remove her hand from Freddie's thigh. He mentally shrugged off the thought and turned to the newcomer.

"Oh good morning" greeted their teacher. "I didn't expect any of you to be here this early."

"I'm just eager to learn more about directing" Freddie smiled. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the blonde rolling her eyes at him, though with a playful smirk on her face. His own smile grew at the sight as the boy felt his friend (_are we friends? _he wondered. _Or just classmates_) was cheering up a little.

"I'm glad you're so keen Freddie" Mr Allen smiled. "As you know, though, this is the last class in this course."

"I know" the former tech producer returned sadly. "It's a shame, because I really enjoyed getting the chance to have a go at directing and organising everything; it's been a great experience and really good fun."

Their teacher smiled again. "Remind me to get you to write the review of this course for next year" he joked.

"Crawler" whispered Lindsey lightly, nudging him playfully with her elbow. He turned and smiled at her, drinking in her features for a few moments before his gaze turned back to her red lips. He swallowed slightly from the nerves being generated as he recalled the near-moment and was thankful for the sound of the door opening again as it allowed him to quickly turn his attention to that side of the classroom.

The bell sounded for the end of the lesson and the kids began to file out; Freddie and Lindsey rose together and followed their classmates out of the door. A few steps later the older girl seized and tugged on his arm. He turned curiously to her and watched as she linked her arm through his and stopped walking, bringing him to a halt. The former iCarly member smiled slightly at her, confusion churning within him about how he was feeling; on the one hand Lindsey was a very attractive 10th grade girl and he recalled what he thought had almost happened before class, on the other he had his feelings for Cat – they weren't going to go away so soon just because she had finished things with him. While the others went to break she stood firm and the two remained in the corridor alone. Satisfied that they had some privacy she released his arm and stood in front of him, well inside his personal space.

"What happened before class?" he asked in a shaky voice as she advanced on him. "It looked like you were about to…" he chuckled nervously and made a gesture as if trying to shrug off some ridiculous notion "you know… _kiss me_."

"I think I was about to" she admitted in a whisper, causing the boy's eyebrows to leap up his forehead.

Wordlessly she leaned in, he reciprocated and their lips met, softly, sweetly and tenderly. She moved to deepen the kiss and he parted his lips slightly, his eyes widening as he felt her pressing more firmly on his mouth. Freddie was mindful of his own inexperience, having only kissed two girls before, so he was happy to let the older, more experienced girl take charge and started to relax into the kiss, closing his eyes and sighing gently at the feeling of her soft lips melding with his own; the sigh, coupled with his hand finding its way to her arm, seemed to trigger something within Lindsey; the blonde's own eyes flew open as she realised what she was doing and she pulled away from him.

"Freddie… Freddie stop" she gasped, retreating and walking a few paces across the deserted hallway looking away from him.

She turned and looked into his confused (and slightly hurt) face before taking a breath and explaining. "It's too soon – I'm sorry. I'm not… I'm not saying that kissing you was a _mistake_ but…" she ran her hand through her hair "I wanted to move on like _he_ has and… I used you" she admitted. "I'm sorry." She repeated and turned away again, a feeling of shame and self-disgust rising within her.

"Don't be" he whispered out quietly. She turned back towards him in surprise. "I needed comforting too and…" he gave a shy smile "you're a really good kisser. If anything I should thank you." His smile widened as a goofy grin grew on her face. "Friends?" he asked, smiling at her and extending his right arm.

"Friends" she agreed, taking his hand and leaning in to give the surprised boy a little peck on the cheek. "For now" she whispered into his ear, causing him to raise his eyebrows in surprise. "I guess we'd better see what's left of break" she concluded and tugged on his arm again, steering him towards the exit to the school.

The bell rang shortly after they left the building so the pair bid each other a shy goodbye and went their separate ways; in Freddie's case this was to Sikowitz's class. Again he was sat on the opposite side of the room to Cat, though this time the rest of the gang made an awkward line between the two.

The class went smoothly, though neither Freddie nor Cat volunteered to participate, much to the eccentric teacher's surprise (as they were usually among his most reliable and enthusiastic actors). Instead both sat there, watching attentively but not participating. So, as the bell tolled to conclude the lesson, he called to them.

"Freddie, Cat, a word please."

Freddie finished pulling his bag over his shoulder and turned back to the teacher; he made his way to the foot of the stage and, a few paces to his right, the red haired girl did likewise. Both teens had to resist the urge to look at one another.

"Normally I wouldn't intrude in the personal lives of my students," he began, "but in a situation like this I'm concerned that it could affect the play that you're both potentially appearing in so I have to ask: Is whatever's going on between you two going to jeopardise the production if you have to both appear?"

The teenagers turned briefly to face one another; independently both had to swallow down the hurt mingled with attraction that the looks elicited.

"No," Freddie told Sikowitz as he faced him again, "if I have to step in then whoever is across from me it won't be a problem."

To his right Cat nodded her agreement, though it was with a feeling of sadness that she noted the coldness of his tone. Satisfied, Sikowitz dismissed them and they left the room together.

"Have you rehearsed much since… the… weekend?" Freddie asked awkwardly.

"No, have you?" Cat replied.

"My mind's been elsewhere" he sighed then, seeing her face drop, elaborated "I'm not blaming you Cat but…"

"I'm blaming you" she interrupted sadly. He gave her a look that blended sadness and confusion as she clarified "I know it's not your fault, what your mom and Carly said and did, but I've blamed you for it; you're suffering for what _they_ did – because I can't deal with them hating me."

Freddie said nothing; he just looked at the girl expecting her to continue talking. She didn't and soon became uncomfortable from him looking at her.

"I… uh, I gotta get to class" she muttered and sped off. The tech producer shook his head sadly and, wondering exactly what Carly had said to her, made his way to his own next lesson, music, which he shared with André. The dreadlocked musician greeted him with a wave as he entered the room.

"You're late Freddie" Anthony, the music teacher, observed.

"Sorry Anthony; Sikowitz wanted to talk to me about the play I'm understudy for, what with opening night getting closer." It was true that opening night was now just a few days away so he hoped the slight misdirection would fly.

"Ok, just start your work" the teacher sighed.

Freddie took his place next to André, thankful that his gifted friend was in the class with him. He was also glad that the current set of classes were focussing on them learning to play the keyboard – the instrument André was helping him learn outside of class. There was no question of the pair slacking off or goofing around, despite being well ahead of most of the class on this instrument; André took his music extremely seriously and was always striving to improve himself, working hard and putting any new ideas he had to a tune. There was no way that Freddie could keep up with him but the brown-haired boy was confident that he would get a good grade for this part of the class at least.

They made a good deal of progress during the class and, as it was lunchtime once the lesson ended, André had the opportunity to talk to his friend.

"So how are you feeling Freddie?" he enquired, thinking back to the boy's mood at the fencing studio the previous night.

Freddie proceeded to talk about his brief row with Carly, the argument with his mother and the general malaise surrounding his break-up with Cat. The pair had been walking and talking and suddenly found themselves entering the rec room. Freddie wasn't sure that he really wanted to be there, knowing that Cat would soon be arriving, but André handed him a bat and he smiled at his friend, seizing the ping pong ball and taking up his position, ready to serve.

* * *

"Why were you late?" Jade asked Cat after the bell had drawn an end to their own lesson; the girls, along with Beck and Robbie, were also making their way to the rec room. The red-haired girl explained about the play and how Sikowitz had wanted to talk to them about the situation and whether it would affect them. She expressed her sadness at the coolness of Freddie's attitude towards her and how much she regretted that it had come to this between them.

"So how are you getting on with your lines?" Beck asked her.

"I've got most of them," she told him, "but I could do with rehearsing the scenes _with_ someone to get them all down, along with my timings."

"How about Freddie?" Jade suggested coyly.

"No, I really wouldn't feel comfortable doing that right now." The child-like teen's tone was sombre.

"Well I could help you" piped up Robbie enthusiastically, causing Rex to shake his head at his handler's eagerness that bordered on desperation.

"That would be great Robbie, thank you" she cried happily. He smiled at her answer before quailing under the look that Jade was giving him; the red-head did not see her friend's look as she had reached the door to their destination.

André and Freddie had played a few points by the time Beck, Jade, Cat and Robbie entered the room; the gothic girl still wore a sour look on her face while Robbie's smile was intact but he was visibly paler than normal. Freddie noticed these but didn't comment; he greeted the group with a quick hello before turning his attention back to André and their game; Cat's face fell further as he had barely acknowledged her. Jade patted her friend's arm gently as they sat.

"He hates me" Cat sobbed to Jade as the two stood by the sinks in the restroom; the bell had just gone and they were about to head to their next class.

"No he doesn't" the brunette reassured her. "He's hurting, just like you are, and this is how he has to deal with it. It hurts him to be around you so he tries to be around you as little as possible."

"You think?" she asked hopefully, brightening slightly.

"Yeah. Give it time and give him a little space and you two will be fine, one way or another."

"Thanks Jade." Cat smiled at her friend, who was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable.

"Come on, we've got to get to class" she said, seizing the child-like teen's wrist and leading her from the room.

* * *

The former Seattleite's mood had still not improved by the time he arrived at home; his mother was already there and was decidedly unimpressed with her son's tone – or his manner at breakfast that morning. It didn't take long before Marissa had had enough.

"You get to your room right now Freddie Benson and you stay there until you decide that I'm right!" she snapped.

"Whatever" he muttered and trudged up the stairs, slamming his bedroom door behind him.

Freddie sat at his desk, resting his elbows on the furniture and cupping his head in his hands. He sighed in frustration and closed his eyes, trying to drain the tension and misery from his system. He grimaced at the thoughts flowing through his head about the way things were going in his life. Finally he decided that he would no longer simply take what he perceived to be his mother's unreasonableness; he packed his fencing bag, walked over to his bedroom window, opened it, placed the bag on the ledge outside and slid out of the window, pulling it almost shut behind him. He gathered up the bag and quietly hopped to the ground before making his way to the bus stop to catch the bus to the fencing studio, texting André as he walked.

The boy arrived at his destination, changed in the locker room and met his friend. The two Hollywood Arts students made their way to a vacant strip for a friendly assault. With a combination of his greater experience and natural ability Freddie soon gained the upper hand before reining it in slightly to keep things competitive and work a little on his defensive technique.

Back at the Benson home Marissa was hammering on her son's door, attempting to inform him that dinner was ready. Receiving no response she burst through his door and gasped as he saw the empty room and slightly open window. Without stopping to think or look around (and knowing he was nowhere else in the house as she hadn't heard him walking around) she hurried downstairs to her purse and pulled out the locator handset, silently congratulating herself on having the foresight to put the chip in her son's head when he was a toddler. The Benson matriarch switched the device on and entered her password.

"_Locating… Benson, Fredward_" the handset announced.

"Come on, hurry" she urged it.

"_Benson, Fredward located. Six point six miles north_" she was told. Marissa snatched up her car keys and left the house, dropping the locator onto the passenger seat as she slid behind the wheel.

Freddie paused in confusion as a voice seemed to sound inside his head. His bewilderment proved costly as his guard dropped and André took advantage, disarming the shorter teen and scoring a quick touch.

"Freddie man, you ok?" he asked in concern when his friend didn't retrieve his epee.

"Huh?" Freddie removed his own mask before gathering his thoughts. "Oh yeah, I just thought I heard something weird." He laughed at the craziness of it. "It sounded like something inside my head."

"Listening to the voices in your head?" the songsmith laughed. Freddie chuckled along with him.

"Alright, let's get on with this" he said, donning his face mask again and picking up his blade.

The two sparred for a quarter of an hour before a fuming Marissa stormed into the fencing studio.

"FREDWARD BENSON" she snapped, looking over to the two teens who had just finished their practice.

Freddie groaned as all eyes looked between him and his mother.

"How dare you go here after I grounded you! And you!" she rounded on André. "Did you put him up to this?"

"No mam" the singer raised his hands in supplication. "I didn't know nothing about that."

"It wasn't his fault mom" Freddie spoke up. "I was upset, I wanted to get out of there – so I left. How did you know I was here anyway?" he suddenly asked.

"I… well…" Marissa threatened to flounder before receiving some inspiration "Where else would you go? This was the obvious place."

Her son eyed her suspiciously but didn't respond.

"Get changed and meet me in the car; we'll talk about this when we get home young man."

He bid a miserable goodbye to André and trudged back to the locker room. He changed and made his way to his mother's car, ignoring the looks and sniggers from the kids who'd witnessed his dressing down.

It was a silent, frosty ride home for the Bensons. "Sit" Marissa commanded as they entered the living area of their home. Freddie complied and his mother stood in front of him.

"You're grounded until the end of term." Freddie bowed his head; he expected this. "No computer."" He gasped. "No phone outside of school." He winced. "You come home, you do your homework, you have dinner and you spend the rest of your time either down here with me or in your room. Do you understand me?"

"Yes mom" he muttered.

"Good. Now go to your room and stay there until morning."

* * *

Opening night for the play arrived a couple of days later; Cat's mood was still miserable over the distance that had arisen between her and Freddie. For his part the young man was equally upset about how things were turning out between them; what had happened with his mother only served to exacerbate his woes (his grounding was exempted for the duration of the play as Marissa accepted it counted as "schoolwork"). He hadn't seen Lindsey since their recent kiss, though he knew that they would still share a class for the final few weeks of term. He reflected sadly that all he needed was for there to be another girl he considered a friend but who he was uncomfortable around. The two 9th graders sat outside the dressing rooms as the cast got into costume; an uncomfortable silence hung between them as the boy resolved not to look at his crush; he simply stared off into space, causing another pang in the red-haired girl's heart.

"Knock 'em dead" Freddie encouraged as the lead pair made their way into the wings, followed by their understudies. They smiled nervously at him and nodded their thanks for his encouragement. The former tech producer spent the duration of the play with his jaw squared and his eyes on the action on the stage, mouthing the lines as the lead actor spoke them. Following Jade's advice, Cat gave the young man some space and time; she too watched the stage as the play unfolded, though she stole an occasional glance at the boy she still liked – every time she looked his attention was completely focussed on the stage.

Had she kept looking, however, she'd have seen him sparing her more than a few glances over the course of the play.

* * *

**AN: For those who wondered about the words 'friendly' and 'assault' being used in the same sentence, it' simply a term for a fencing match in which the score isn't kept.**

**Thanks for reading; I hope you enjoyed the chapter. If so, or even if you didn't, please let me know and I hope to see you all next week with the next instalment.**


	12. Chapter 11

**AN: Welcome one and all to the latest instalment of this story. As always I would like to thank everyone who read the last part and in particular those of you who took the time and trouble to review it; I am grateful for your feedback.**

**Challenge King – you'll have to wait and see what happens (if anything) between Freddie and Lindsey or Freddie/Cat for that matter.**

**Digidestend Angel – I love the Cat/Freddie pairing too and I'm glad you're going to keep reading.**

**Agent-M – Freddie would certainly be far from happy if he discovered the chip, but for now he has no reason to suspect that such a chip exists, or that Marissa is capable of it.**

* * *

Thursday morning found a relieved Freddie Benson heading into school; his home life was becoming increasingly difficult after his mother grounded him over his sneaking out to go fencing. He was thankful that there were only two days left until the end of term, as he was desperate for his punishment to end so that he could return to his fencing and have a chance to hang out with his friends outside of school.

Cat Valentine was also looking forward to the end of her first term at Hollywood Arts. So much had happened these last few weeks that the girl with red-velvet coloured hair was eager for the chance to breathe and to organise her thoughts a little over the break. It was painful for her to be in the same room as Freddie, such was the frostiness and uncomfortable atmosphere between them. A part of the girl wished that she had not broken up with him; the other part of herself reminded her that she didn't want people to openly hate her and that was what dating Freddie had resulted in.

The former couple made their way independently to Sikowitz's class for first period. As had become usual they were sat at opposite sides of the room with their mutual friends in a line between them.

Being the end of term this also happened to be the morning of the penultimate performance of "The Gold Rush" and Sikowitz had news for his understudies after their acting class.

"Freddie, Cat – stay a second please."

The two hovered while their friends left the room and, once the three were alone, the teacher made his announcement.

"There are only two shows left; I want to give my lead pair a break before the final performance tomorrow and I also want to give my two ninth graders"he smiled broadly at them "some experience on the stage. The audience will probably be small tonight so the two of you are playing the leads."

Cat gasped and squealed while Freddie raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"I hope you two are word perfect" were Sikowitz's parting words as he gathered up his habitual coconut and left the room sucking on its milk.

"I guess we're performing tonight" Freddie said as he headed for the door; the red-haired girl followed a step behind him.

"I guess so" she echoed as she caught up with him; the brown-haired boy held the door allowing her through first; they went their separate ways without another word.

Cat eagerly broke the news to Jade as the two girls shared the next period. Freddie was in music with André and the songsmith shared in his delight when he was informed of the development.

"That's awesome man. I'll make sure I'm there to see you in action."

Freddie chuckled a little and thanked his friend for his support.

"So you still grounded?" the dreadlocked musician asked as they headed for break after class.

"Yep, stuck at home until the end of term" Freddie sighed.

"That sucks" the singer-songwriter sympathised. "We'll see if we can do something or get some fencing in next week once term has ended."

"That'd be good."

"We'll try and have a small party next week as well – just you, me, Beck, Jade, Cat and Robbie. What do you say?"

"I'm not sure how good it will be having Cat and me in the same room" he admitted. "It's been so awkward since…" he trailed off sadly. André nodded his understanding.

"You two will figure it out" he told him confidently.

* * *

As Sikowitz had predicted, only a small audience was present for the evening's show. Jade, Beck, Robbie and André were there to give support to their friends and were enjoying their performances immensely. Freddie's mother and Cat's parents were also in attendance, watching their offspring make their acting debuts.

Cat walked up to Freddie; the brown-haired teen made to retreat but she gripped his arm tightly, keeping him in place and forcing him to continue to face her before she pulled him in for a kiss. It may have been what the script demanded but the girl was determined to use it to say what she feared to, to show him what he still meant to her despite what Marissa and Carly had done to them. The pair kissed with passion and held each other close for a few seconds before breaking apart, each feeling reluctant to have to do so. The boy stepped back quickly, turning his back on the girl and walking a few steps away to the back of the stage.

"Tell me that meant nothing!" Cat demanded, catching up with him, grabbing his arm again and pulling him round towards her, gazing into his eyes as she issued the challenge.

"It meant nothing" the boy retorted before pulling his arm from her grasp and turning away from her and facing the side of the stage. His eyes and his body had betrayed him to the girl, exposing his lie but, as they were in the middle of the play, Cat couldn't pursue it and instead continued with her character's next line.

The play ended and the young co-stars took centre stage with the rest of the cast around them. The small audience applauded enthusiastically as the actors took their bow. Cat and Freddie wore identical huge smiles on their faces as relief, elation and adrenaline mingled in their bodies. They sought out their friends, applauding enthusiastically in the auditorium, and waved in their direction before the curtain came down.

"You were brilliant Cat" Freddie told the girl as they headed for the dressing rooms.

"You too Freddie" he replied.

"You both did yourselves enormous credit tonight" Sikowitz agreed, smiling broadly at the ninth grade pair. "I look forward to each of you auditioning for more roles in the future."

The two turned to one another and their smiles dropped in unison as the different feelings associated with the events of the past term churned within them. Cat broke the silence as she whispered,

"I'm sorry Freddie, for making things so awkward between us. Friends again?" she concluded hopefully.

"Friends," agreed Freddie with a smile, though one that didn't quite reach his eyes as his voice contained his disappointment that they'd be 'just friends'. He pulled the red-haired girl into a hug and she wrapped her arms eagerly around his back.

"For now" she whispered into his ear, grinning as she did. The words sent a jolt through Freddie's body, not just because of the hint of something more but because it reminded him that Lindsey had said the exact same thing. The boy found thoughts of both girls coursing through his mind; suddenly he felt confused and conflicted. For once he was thankful for the arrival of his mother as it distracted them from the moment.

"Freddie!" she cried, pulling him into a tight hug. "You were amazing tonight, that was fantastic" she gushed while he tried desperately to extricate himself from her grip. "Well done Cat" she added almost as a stiff afterthought. The girl smiled in gratitude, feeling that it was, at least, an improvement on her last encounter with the Benson matriarch.

"Cat!" screeched Mrs Valentine.

"Baby!" her father added before the pair engulfed her much as Marissa had done Freddie.

The Valentines echoed Marissa's description of the teens' performances and, somewhere in the platitudes, pledged to take their daughter out for a celebratory smoothie.

"That would be great" she clapped her hands happily. "Can Freddie come too?" she asked hopefully, eyeing the two Bensons.

"No" Marissa instantly and vehemently declared. Freddie looked disappointed but she cut off any discussion. "You're still grounded until the end of term; you're coming straight home with me once you've changed."

"Yes mom" he answered in resignation before giving an apologetic look to the three Valentines and also to his classmates, who had just joined the little gathering, and heading for the dressing room. Cat's look was one of sympathy as she headed to get changed as well, promising to talk to her friends when she was done.

* * *

Buoyed by the events of the previous evening, both the performance and the thawing relations with Freddie, Cat had been in a great mood ever since she awoke on the morning of the last day of term, so much so that she was starting to annoy Jade by her bubbliness. The brunette did have to admit, though, that it was good to see her friend so happy again after recent events.

"So things are going to be good between you two then?" the short-tempered girl asked as she retrieved some books from her locker.

"I think so" the effervescent red-head replied. "We're friends again. Maybe one day if his mom stops hating me…" she trailed off hopefully.

Jade smiled again, leaning against her locker and hoping that things might just turn out ok between the two of them.

Two girls, one blonde and one brunette, stood at the foot of the main staircase inside Hollywood Arts; one dropped her belated bombshell on the other.

"You made out with a _ninth grader_?" the brunette was stunned at Lindsey's admission.

"We didn't make out; we kissed. And it wasn't just _any_ ninth grader" the blonde replied with a mischievous smile. "It was Freddie Benson."

By the lockers Cat squealed in shock. To her right Jade looked stunned and furious.

"The iCarly guy? Well he is kinda dreamy."

"I know" the blonde giggled.

"When did this happen?"

"A couple of Wednesdays ago, after our directing class."

Cat yelped again; Jade's expression darkened ever further.

"So are you two _dating_?"

At this question Cat ran sobbing to the nearest girls' restroom. Jade stared after her, internally debating her next move. A few seconds later she determined that her friend would benefit from a little alone time; she narrowed her eyes and went in search of the Seattle-born boy.

"No" Lindsey replied, unheard by the two ninth grade girls. "We're just friends… for now." She smiled knowingly at the caveat and the two sophomores headed for their first class of the day.

* * *

"Benson" The gothic girl snarled at her quarry, cornering him outside the music room.

"Jade?" He was surprised at her tone; it was unusual for her to use it with him. André looked from one to the other before deciding that he should have no part of the conversation. He mumbled an excuse and went inside the classroom, leaving the pair alone.

"So… you and Lindsey…" she prompted, stalking him like a cat and edging ever closer to him. "You kissing her" she prompted in response to his silence.

"Who told you that?" Freddie asked in surprise. Jade just stared at him and he sighed. "First of all, _she_ kissed _me_. And what's it to you anyway?"

"What's it to me?" Jade's tone was one of amazement at his question. "_Cat is in the bathroom sobbing her eyes out_."

"_She_ broke up with _me_" he reminded her.

"Yeah, because of your crazy friend and psychotic mother."

"Yes, because of _other people_" he countered. "Not because of _me_. So am I supposed to be single forever?"

"No but you're not supposed to make out with tenth graders like two days later! I liked you" she told him, stepping towards him, trying her best to intimidate. "I thought you were a good guy, that you'd make Cat happy – looks like I was way off."

"I'm not the bad guy here!" he insisted, refusing to be cowed by her. "She broke up with me" he repeated. "If it was up to me I'd still be dating her! If she wanted us to get back together tomorrow I would – and very happily. Look," he sighed, "Lindsey was upset; she'd been dumped by Ryder and he was dating someone else already. She wanted to move on as well and she kissed me. Did I like it? Yes! Did I go looking for it? No!"

"So you two _aren't_ dating?"

"No we're not; we're just friends" he insisted.

"Just friends?" Jade was incredulous. "Do you usually make out with your friends?"

"Is that an offer?" he shot back with a smirk.

"Don't. Push. Me." She whispered darkly before turning on her heel and going in search of Cat. Freddie's shoulders slumped; after all the recent unpleasantness things were finally getting back on track for the two and now this revelation had probably made them worse than ever. He turned sadly and joined his gifted friend in the music room.

Break time saw Beck and André drag a reluctant Freddie to the rec room; he really didn't want to spend the whole of break under Jade's disapproving eye or to deal with a miserable and hurt Cat again. So he was surprised, upon entering the room, that he was greeted enthusiastically by the red head; she wore a broad smile and even gave him a quick hug. He returned it but did, however, note the sour expression on the gothic girl's face.

"She's far more forgiving than I am."

"That's not difficult" Beck chided his girlfriend gently.

"It's ok, they're not dating and we're good" Cat volunteered, interlacing her fingers with Freddie's and tugging gently on his hand before releasing it. "We're good" she repeated, smiling at the boy.

"We sure are" he smiled back happily, and a little relieved.

Friday night saw the final night of Freddie's grounding; it meant that he had to miss a party that Eli had invited him to (which he had hoped to attend after the last performance of the play; Marissa put an end to his hopes by continuing to enforce his punishment), but he was buoyed by the thought that André was throwing one the following night for the small circle of friends. His frustrations were compounded by the news that the fencing studio was closing for the next few days while the owner was on vacation; he would have to wait until after Christmas to make his return to the sport he loved.

"Hey man, come on in" the songsmith greeted the tech producer as the latter arrived. The music was already pumping and Freddie again found himself applauding his friend's music tastes and choices.

Freddie followed André into the house and looked around the living room; Beck and Jade were sat, leaning against one another, on one of the couches. Both had a cup of fruit punch in hand and the songwriter was quick to furnish Freddie with one for himself. He accepted it gratefully and took a quick sip, savouring the flavour.

"My parents were happy to let me have the party here tonight but they drew the line at alcohol" André joked. Freddie grinned and took a larger draught from his cup.

"Hey dude" Beck greeted him with a wave. Freddie smiled and waved back at the couple. Jade offered him a thin smile; despite Cat's earlier statement she was clearly still annoyed about the tech producer's kiss with Lindsey. He shrugged and took a seat near Beck; the two boys were soon engaged in a friendly discussion about the finer aspects of fencing, much to Jade's chagrin and rapidly growing boredom.

The dark-haired girl was rescued by Cat's arrival. Her bubbly persona and infectious delight improved even Jade's mood and the two girls were soon engaged in a conversation of their own as André joined the guys in talking about their sport until the dreadlocked musician was distracted by Robbie's arrival (along, inevitably, with Rex) which made the little gathering complete. The teenagers had a fun evening together celebrating the end of the school term, the forthcoming Christmas celebration and made provisional plans to get together a few times and hang out away from the school environment for a change.

Freddie's favourite part of the evening was when Cat decided to start a little impromptu karaoke; the red velvet-haired girl sprang to her feet declaring "Ooh I love this song" about twenty minutes after she arrived and began to sing along, much to Jade's amusement and the amazed appreciation of the brown-haired teen. Freddie loved the girl's vocal talents and actually applauded her once the song was over. She took a jovial bow before informing the boy that it was "his turn". Encouraged by the others, he got reluctantly to his feet and crooned along to the next song, garnering polite applause from his friends at the end (Cat was the most enthusiastic). The others took their turns amid general merriment before coming together for a group rendition of one of their favourites.

"Thanks André, you guys" Freddie nodded to his peers as he got up to leave; Marissa had come to collect him. Cat's parents had also arrived as had Robbie's and the three teens wound up leaving together (Jade's mother would arrive soon after to take Beck and her daughter home). "Hopefully I'll see you all at the mall on Tuesday."

"Looking forward to it" called Jade, sounding a little more genuine than perhaps she might have earlier; her feelings were thawing as she saw Cat relaxing around him again and she also rationalised what had happened and his explanation of it.

"You seem happy" commented Mrs Valentine, pleased to see her daughter back in her customary high spirits.

"I am; things are getting better between me and Freddie. I think we're going to be ok now."

* * *

Upon returning home the younger Benson smiled as he crossed the living area; he was happy again around Cat, things were good with all of his friends and he was thinking about the plans he would make to hang out with them and just to have a good time outside of school over the holidays.

"Oh Freddie" Marissa called to him as he began to ascend the stairs. "We're going to Seattle for Christmas; we leave on Tuesday morning."

* * *

**AN: So here we are; the end of our friends' first term at Hollywood Arts. I hope you've enjoyed their story so far as much as I have. Please let me know whether you have or not and come back next week for the next part of their tale.**


	13. Chapter 12

**AN: Hello, gentle reader. Welcome to this week's instalment of iSwitch Schools. I hope you're all well, particularly those on the East Coast of the US who may have been affected by Sandy.**

**As usual I'd like to start by thanking you all for reading this story and thank those of you who took the time and trouble to review chapter 11.**

**Power214063 – that is a great idea; watch this space…**

**Challenge King – thank you for your kind words, we'll have to see what, if anything, transpires between those two.**

**Agent-M – Freddie's still only 14 so he's a little young to be slaying the matriarchal dragon just yet, though I will refer you to what I just said to Power214063 and leave it at that for now. As for Happy Ever After… well forever is a long time and it's a long road to get there but maybe they will…**

**Ok, on with the story.**

* * *

Caterina Valentine awoke on Christmas morning feeling unusually down; normally you could not meet a more excited girl (of any age) on that morning. This year, however, there was an overwhelming feeling of sadness for her; just a few short weeks ago she had expected to be spending at least part of this day with Freddie and every time her thoughts turned to him they dredged up a lot of painful feelings. _Why?_ she wondered. _Why do people hate me for liking him? _The red velvet-haired girl thought to Marissa threatening her with a towel, her mind then turned to the awful things Carly had said when they talked. She had liked Carly from the web show and the brunette had seemed pleasant when talking with her and Freddie. Once the two girls were alone, however, it had turned out to be a different story. _Why, just when we were getting back on track, did I find out about this other girl?_ The girl's thoughts turned to Lindsey; despite Jade's assurances of what Freddie had told her, Cat couldn't help but be fearful. _Why would he want me when a hot, older girl is showing an interest?_ She mused miserably. Cat wiped a tear from her eye and sniffled before a loud crash downstairs drew her from the past. Her shoulders slumped yet further and her mood fell again as she worried about what her brother was doing now.

A thousand miles north Freddie Benson woke in his aunt's Seattle apartment; he and his mother were staying there while they saw family over the holiday period. He was feeling down, having thought a couple of months ago that he would be spending his first Christmas with Cat or at least talking to her. His mother and Carly had scuppered that for him though. Even a week ago he had made plans to be hanging with some of his other school friends but the Benson matriarch had further frustrated him by making plans for them to go to Seattle for the whole holiday period without consulting him or taking any plans he may have made into consideration.

* * *

"Merry Christmas Freddie" Marissa greeted him as he emerged from his temporary bedroom.

"Merry Christmas mom" he returned, putting on a somewhat forced smile. The two joined the rest of the family for breakfast.

"I'll be visiting my cousin this afternoon" his mother announced after they had eaten. "She had a baby, Stephanie, recently. Will you be coming along?"

"Actually there was someone else I was planning on visiting today" he informed her.

"Not Carly?" she sighed.

"After what she did? No way!" he snapped coldly. "There is somebody I want to talk to though."

* * *

The brown haired teen was directed to a seat and told to wait. He daydreamed for a couple of minutes, musing on what would have happened had he and Cat not broken up and he was surprised to find himself thinking more and more about the alluring Lindsey. _Things were so much _simpler, he mused, _when I was just obsessed with Carly_. In spite of himself the thoughts of the blonde sophomore drew more and more of a smile from the former tech producer before his thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of a different blonde.

"Freddie! Long time no see!"

"Hello to you too Sam" he smiled. "In my defence it is a thousand mile journey up here; I can't exactly come every weekend."

"I'm surprised you're here at all" she commented.

"Well it was either this or spend the afternoon with my mom's family" he shrugged with a smile.

"Aww and I thought I was special" she lamented, albeit with a smile.

"So how are you Sam?" he asked with concern at her dishevelled appearance.

"Mama's just fine" she said in a voice that exuded false bravado. Seeing through it the boy looked at her and her face crumpled. "Ok I'm not fine." Suddenly a single tear escaped from her left eye. "Oh Freddie, I hate it in here. And I've not had a visitor in over a month before you. Mom came with Melanie when she visited six weeks ago…"

"Melanie?" the tech producer was confused.

"My twin sister" she sniffed. Freddie looked bewildered but the blonde pressed on "And Carly? Not in ninety-seven days" she sobbed, burying her head on her forearms. She looked up at him and continued "We were _best friends_ and now it's like I don't even exist as far as she's concerned! She has a new life at that snotty school and…" her breath hitched "and you're in Los Angeles; meanwhile I was at Ridgeway and now I'm stuck in here." The girl resumed weeping openly and bitterly.

Feeling utterly helpless Freddie opted to give his former tormentor a sympathetic expression and he placed a hand tenderly on the plexiglass that separated them. He thought back on life with Sam – the arguments, the bickering, how long it had taken him to wash the blue cheese dressing out of his hair when she'd switched his shampoo. Time had made him think on her actions in another light; he wondered whether she had simply done it all to distract his attention from Carly – whatever her reasons were. She met his eyes and he gave her a small smile. She returned it, though her eyes betrayed her confusion, before she raised her hand to touch the other side of the glass from his.

"How have you been, Freddie?" she asked, eliciting a sigh from the boy.

"School's been good – at least it was for a while. I was dating this girl; mom wasn't happy, _Carly_ wasn't happy and between them…" he gave a helpless look "they wrecked things for us. She couldn't deal with people hating her because she was seeing me, so she ended it."

"What was she like?" Sam's tone was curious but her expression darkened as he recounted Carly's actions.

"She's really pretty and has hair the colour of red velvet cupcakes. Yeah I know" he added as mention of the treat brought a look from the blonde. "She's bubbly, giggly, girly – you'd hate her with a passion."

"I don't doubt it if she likes _you_" the juvie inmate teased before dropping her smile. "So what did your crazy-ass mom do to her?"

"Chased her round our living room wielding a towel."

"Seriously?" she laughed.

"Y'know, I _could_ go now." Freddie was starting to feel a little annoyed.

"I'm sorry." Freddie mimed being taken aback in shock. "Don't make me say it again" she growled and they shared a laugh.

The two spent a little while catching up and talking about mindless, trivial things before Freddie was warned that his time was almost up.

"When do you get out of here?" he asked.

"A couple more months" she groaned. "I can't believe they stuck me in here for so long."

"Sam, you beat up Gibby and put him in hospital."

"I know; I was there, remember?" she snapped a little before sighing. "I know what I did" she repeated quietly.

"Call me when you get out of here" Freddie said in a tender voice. "If you ever need someone to talk to; I haven't changed my cellphone number."

"You should have had to" she laughed before answering his confused look. "I was planning on mailing your phone to Cambodia just before you announced you were leaving."

Freddie smirked at the admission and shook his head at the girl's antics. A thought suddenly struck him and he gave a quick, involuntary, evil grin as he eyed the blonde.

"Wait, when you mentioned Carly… you can count to 97?"

"Los Angeles isn't so big that I can't hunt you down there Benson" she mock-growled.

"I don't doubt it Puckett" he replied with a smile.

"Thanks Freddie; it was _almost_ good to see you" she laughed.

"Bye Sam; take care and call me when you get out."

* * *

Jade arrived at the Valentine residence mid-afternoon.

"Hey Cat, Happy Christmas" she greeted her friend, accepting a hug from her.

"Hey Jade, Happy Christmas to you too."

"So how are you?" the dark brunette enquired as the pair walked through the house into the living room. She smiled and nodded to Cat's family as they greeted her.

"Oh I'm ok."

Jade wasn't convinced. "Still upset over Freddie?"

"Yes" she admitted sadly.

The gothic girl nodded. _Tough love_ she thought to herself, steeling herself to tell the vulnerable teen a couple of home truths. "Well, you need to make a choice. You either decide Freddie's worth all the chizz that goes along with him – Carly and his mom – or you decide he isn't. But carrying on in this mood and wondering about it all _isn't _helping you."

The red-haired girl nodded meekly as she contemplated her friend's words. She began unwrapping one of the chocolates she had received for Christmas and chewed on it in order to avoid having to respond verbally to Jade's challenge. She offered the girl a chocolate but it was declined.

"How about you Jade?" she changed the subject. "How was your Christmas?"

"Pretty good," Jade was a little caught off guard but answered her friend.

"Any good presents?"

"Not really. Well, my dad got me a good one," she amended, "he just doesn't realise it yet."

"I don't understand," Cat complained.

"Yeah, yeah, big surprise" the brunette muttered under her breath.

"So what did you get from him?"

"It's what I'm _getting_" she corrected.

"What is he getting you then?"

Jade grinned wickedly as she answered her friend.

* * *

"Freddie!" came the call from across the street; the boy was walking back towards his aunt's place, not far from Bushwell Plaza.

"Spencer? Hey dude, how are you?" A surprised Freddie asked before he crossed the deserted street to meet Carly's brother.

"Great thanks, how are you?" the elder Shay then frowned. "Carly's pretty upset you know; you haven't responded to her texts or her e-mails or spoken to her since…"

"Since she _wrecked my relationship_" the former iCarly member interrupted tersely.

"Look I don't know what went on between you two, but my sister's upset and I'd be remiss if I didn't point that out" the artist told him.

"Well you have done, but don't expect me to see or talk to her."

"Oh ok" Spencer was disappointed but covered it with a shrug. "Oh hey, you want a coffee? Or better, a Gallini pie!"

Freddie smiled at the man's enthusiasm. "What's so special about Gallini pie?" he wondered.

"Oh man, you have to try it… Carly won't be there" he added, correctly interpreting the look Freddie gave him. "Come on!" he cried and dragged Freddie to his favourite pie café. The artist ordered two coconut cream pies and, when they arrived, they began to tuck in. Freddie savoured the taste but couldn't see why Spencer was so eager to go there.

"They're not as good as they were; not since Mr Gallini dies a few weeks ago. They say he kept the recipe in his computer but the family have never found it."

The pair ate their pies, catching up by chatting amiably about everything that had happened, both in Los Angeles and Seattle, since Freddie's move to the City of Angels. Freddie's eyes narrowed suspiciously, though, when Spencer pulled his phone from his pocket and began writing a text.

"Who are you texting?" he asked.

"Carly."

Freddie was on his feet in an instant. "If you text her I'm leaving. I mean it Spencer; I am _not_ seeing or talking to her."

"Alright" Spencer sighed in defeat. "I'll just let her know that I'm here, I'll be leaving soon and will bring her back a pie. See?" He waved his phone at Freddie so the boy could read the text he was about to send his sister.

Placated, Freddie sat down again and returned to his pie, but the atmosphere was far more strained afterwards.

* * *

Boxing Day dawned with Cat in a slightly brighter mood; the red velvet-haired girl remembered that she was meeting her friends at the Green Meadow mall today. Her face fell a little when she reminded herself that Freddie wouldn't be there; she had been upset when she received his text that his mother had taken him back to Seattle for almost the entire holiday (Freddie had mentioned that he was equally upset about it). She dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved top, anticipating a cool December day, and headed downstairs for a quick breakfast before her mother drove her to the mall to meet the gang. André was waiting at the agreed meeting point, just outside the Pear Store (a legacy from the plans including Freddie when they were made) and a few minutes later Beck and Jade arrived hand-in-hand. Cat smiled at the couple but couldn't help but feel her own sadness at the little PDA between them; Jade's words from the previous day were ringing in her ears and she felt that she was moving closer to making a decision…

Once Robbie (and, of course, Rex) had joined the gathering, the group of friends walked around the mall; Cat was on the look-out for any stores that may be offering some sales and bargains while Jade put on a bored expression as if she was barely tolerating this part of the day.

"Are you getting your present from your dad today?" Cat piped up.

"No," Jade frowned, "they don't sell what I want _here_. I'll get it later on this week."

The rest of the group traded bemused looks and looked to Beck for an answer; the long-haired Canadian actor simply shrugged, either unable or unwilling to supply the information. The conversation moved on to the presents received by the others in the group; Jade tuned out, content to simply be with Beck, until she suddenly noticed that Cat was no longer in the group. The gothic girl released her boyfriend's hand and stepped away from him, looking frantically around the mall for her best friend. Beck's confusion at her action lifted as he too realised that the child-like teen was missing and joined his girlfriend in scanning the vicinity.

"There she is," he said softly, touching Jade's shoulder and pointing towards the middle of the mall where Cat was stood, leaning against a pillar and looking towards the empty stage. Jade could see the sadness on her face and crossed the mall to her side.

"You okay?" she asked in an unusually soft voice.

"Uh huh" her friend replied, though the response failed to convince Jade.

"You and Freddie came here" she guessed.

"We saw the Waggafuffles on that stage" Cat explained sadly. "It was a really fun date, even if he didn't enjoy that part as much as I did," she smiled at the memory, "I really like him and I really liked hanging out with him. I've thought about what you said and you're right; I have to make a decision."

Jade nodded. "Come on, let's go back to the others" and she steered her friend back towards the group.

* * *

Freddie awoke to the buzzing of his pear phone; he groaned as he took the G5 from the bedside table and checked the clock on it; 8:30 a.m. _Time to get up_ he mused. He glanced again at the device to see what exactly had woken him up and shook his head in disgust; _another_ text from Carly, the tenth since he and Spencer had met up the previous day. _When is she going to get the message?_ he wondered. He set the phone down again and dressed in jeans and a T-shirt with an unbuttoned shirt pulled over it before making his way to the deserted kitchen. The boy doubted that his mother was still asleep; sure enough when he glanced back at the door to the room where he was sleeping, he could see a post-it note stuck to it.

_Freddie,_

_We have gone to the market._

_Back soon; if you need anything then call._

_Love, mom x_

He shook his head before taking the note from the door, balled it up and dropped it in the trash before raiding the kitchen for breakfast; it was good to find some bacon, eggs and pancakes – all the things his mother disapproved of – and make himself a very satisfying breakfast from them. Having eaten, the brown-haired teen cleared away the plates and utensils he had used before settling down in front of the television and flicking between the channels, trying to find something worth watching. He smiled wryly to himself as he thought about how unusual it was to be able to see _every_ channel; his mother had blocked a large number of channels on their package (including, to his eternal amusement, the Nature Network). Enjoying the run of the apartment, and the channel selection, Freddie spent an enjoyable and peaceful couple of hours, interspersed as it was with regular beeps on his phone followed by him deleting, unread, Carly's latest message. Tired of the activity, he switched his phone off, throwing it idly onto the couch by his side and resumed trawling the television channels in search of something he wanted to watch.

* * *

Cat met her mother in the parking lot to the Green Meadow mall; she was clutching several bags having managed to find a number of bargains. The red-head bid her friends goodbye and the two Valentines headed for home. The teenager retired to her room and examined her purchases before storing them in her closet. She sat back on her bed and smiled at the memory of the fun day she had spent with her friends before an ache in her heart reminded her forcefully of the one person who had been missing.

_I think I'm ready to make a decision_ the girl thought.


	14. Chapter 13

**AN: Hello everyone, welcome to chapter 13 of this little story. I hope you've all been enjoying reading it as much as I'm enjoying writing it. As always my gratitude to you all for reading and reviewing my work.**

**So for Challenge King – thank you, and you will learn Cat's decision over the next few paragraphs.**

**LittleMissMusical – I'm going to interpret that as you liking it so again, thank you.**

* * *

The inbound flight landed at Los Angeles airport. Freddie and Marissa got into her car and the Benson matriarch drove them back to their home after their Christmas and New Year break in Seattle; it was Saturday evening so they would have a full day to prepare for their respective returns to school and work.

Freddie retrieved the mail and began sorting it as he entered the house. He paused over one particular envelope as he recognised the graceful lettering on it; it was Carly's handwriting. The boy frowned, internally debating whether he should open the letter or just throw it straight in the garbage. _Of course_, he mused, _after Spencer told her that we met up in town and I ignored her texts and calls – she just won't give up_. The fact that the girl had taken the trouble to actually _write_ to him, rather than just continuing her barrage of text messages and e-mails, persuaded him to see what she had to say. He sighed, placed his mother's mail on the table and sat down on the couch, setting the rest of his own mail down by his side. The brown-haired teen slit open the envelope and withdrew the neatly folded piece of paper inside. He opened it and began to read.

_Dear Freddie,_

_I've said this already but I guess you haven't seen it since Spencer told me that you've been deleting my texts and e-mails without reading them so I'll say it again: I'm sorry. What I did and what I said to Cat was wrong and I shouldn't have dismissed your feelings the way I did. I regret it and I wish that I could make it better._

_It hurt me to learn that you were in Seattle and didn't come to say hello; I guess I understand why you didn't but it doesn't change the fact that I miss you and I'd have loved to have seen you, especially as you were hanging with Spencer. The thought that you (of all people) were in the city and made the choice not to try and see me (in fact you told my brother that if he called me and I showed up then you'd leave) really upset me, even though it's my fault. I hope that one day you, and Cat, can find it in your hearts to forgive me. When you do I would love for us to start talking again and hopefully rebuild our friendship._

_I really hope that you are well and that your life is going great,_

_Love_

_Carly_

Freddie re-read the letter before closing his eyes and leaning back on the couch, letting out a long sigh as he did; he wasn't sure what to think about what he'd just read, whether she was genuine or whether she was just sorry that she was caught. He slid the letter back in the envelope and dropped it on top of the pile before settling back and closing his eyes again listening to the sound of his mother's fretting.

Cat and Jade entered Hollywood Arts together for the first day of the new term. The red-haired girl was in her usual high spirits while her brunette friend sported a slightly modified look, one that Freddie noticed immediately as he greeted the pair by their lockers.

"Hey girls, how was your Christmas? Wow Jade, loving the new look." The gothic girl had started wearing hair extensions, pink on one side of her face and green on the other.

"Thanks Freddie" she smiled. "They were a Christmas present from my dad."

"Really?" the boy was surprised.

"Yeah, he sent me some money – it's the first time I've heard from him since the divorce" she commented bitterly. "I knew he'd hate it so I did it."

"Well I think they suit you" he complimented her. She smiled mischievously at him.

"One time my brother dyed _his_ hair pink" Cat piped up. The other two looked at her with a mixture of sympathy and amusement. "Yeah, I don't know why either."

Eli joined the gathering, slightly to their surprise. The sandy-blond was in some of their classes (and had, of course, auditioned on the same day as Cat and Freddie) but didn't usually hang with them. They made him welcome, though, and he joined the discussion of what they had done over the holidays; he also complimented Jade on her new look and the four were chatting amiably when Beck, Robbie and André arrived shortly before the bell rang. They were all in Sikowitz's class in first period so they made their way there as a group, Beck wrapping an arm around Jade's shoulder as they walked; she responded by pressing herself into his side.

Sikowitz was privately happy, upon entering the room, to see Cat and Freddie sat side-by-side again and looking once again comfortable in each other's company. The chemistry they had exhibited on stage during their lessons over the past term had excited the eccentric teacher, who was keen to cast them in more roles now that they had proven themselves both in class and, once, on the stage.

The lesson focussed on comedic acting, particularly working on timing and delivering a line dead-pan, something Jade in particular excelled at due to her usually dry demeanour. Freddie, too, did well with this although Cat's giggly disposition meant that she struggled more than most with it.

"Never mind, we all have stuff we'll struggle with" Freddie consoled her, patting her on her jean-covered thigh as she sat down miserably; her inability to keep a straight face had caused her latest sketch on the small stage to go badly – Sikowitz would be setting her extra lines to practice ahead of the next class. She smiled gratefully at her brown-haired friend, losing herself for a moment in his soft, brown eyes. Her trance was broken by the tolling of the bell for the end of class and she jumped slightly, leaping abruptly to her feet but immediately regretting breaking eye contact.

"How was Seattle?" she asked warily as they left the room headed for their next class, which was Science. Cat was relieved to be in the same class as Freddie for this subject as she feared that she would need all the help she could get with it – and that few people could give her the same quality help as he could.

"Same as always," he shrugged. "We spent a lot of time with the family but I had a chance to go and visit Sam in Juvie…"

"Really?" Cat sounded surprised.

"Yeah, it's been a while since I saw her and I'd heard that she didn't get many visitors so I thought I'd take the opportunity while I was up there."

"Oh ok, how was she?"

"She was ok, rather down about the whole situation; it's really starting to get to her and she still has a couple of months before she's released. She _seemed_ pleased to see me; hopefully we'll keep in touch when she gets out and she'll keep out of trouble from now on… though without Carly to reign her in…" he shrugged and winced slightly as he saw the girl's face fall at the brunette's name.

"How _was_ Carly?" Cat asked with a tinge of sadness in her voice.

"I don't know; I never saw her."

"You didn't?"

"I had no intention of doing so." He held open the door to the science lab and allowed the red-head to enter ahead of him. "I saw her brother, Spencer, on my way back from visiting Sam but I told him that if he called Carly and tried to get her to show then I was leaving."

"It must be tough when you were friends for so long."

"Not really. I _hate_ what she, and my mom, did to you Cat." He took a deep breath. "Having said that, there was a letter from her waiting for me when we got home on Saturday. I've been deleting her texts and e-mails ever since she…" he tailed off awkwardly; the girl looked expectedly at him so he continued, "but seeing her actually take the trouble to write to me… well something about that made me decide not to just throw it straight in the trash."

"What did she say?"

By way of reply Freddie reached into his coat and drew the letter from the inside pocket. He handed it to the girl. "Here," he said.

Cat accepted the letter with a look of mild surprise on her face. She unfolded it and began to read as the rest of their classmates entered the room and found themselves places to sit; she had followed Freddie to a table at the front of the room. She finished the letter and blinked back a couple of tears; what Carly had said to her last term came flooding back into her mind at the girl's letter. She met Freddie's eyes and nodded at him as she folded the paper and returned it to him.

"So, what are you going to do?"

He sighed in thought. "She realises she was wrong and she's apologising – to both of us. However much I may want to, I don't think I could stay mad at her forever and I _would_ like to talk to her again from time to time. What do you think?"

"She's your friend, you have to decide." Seeing Freddie looking for a more revealing answer she continued, "I didn't like what she did but she _has_ apologised for it. It's not going to upset me if you're talking to her – if that was what was worrying you."

"It was a little," he admitted.

"Ok class, let's make a start," the teacher called, bringing any further discussion of the subject to an end for now. The teenagers gathered their books and stationery together and turned their attention to the front of the room.

* * *

"So Freddie," Beck began as the group met up in the rec room at lunch, "when will you next be going fencing?"

"I was planning on going tonight. You guys up for it?" he looked from Beck to André; both his friends nodded their agreement. "Great, I'm going to nip home after school, grab my gear and head straight there. How does that sound?"

"Works for me" the musician commented.

The afternoon went quickly and the bell soon signalled the end of the school day. While the boys left to go fencing after school Cat dragged a reluctant Jade off for coffee and girl talk; the former appealed to the gothic girl, the latter certainly did not – but she was just about willing to play along.

"So, have you thought any more about Freddie?"

"Yeah I have. I still really like him and…" the girl took a deep breath "I've decided that he _is_ worth it. I'm going to go for it and just deal with his crazy mother – and anyone else – when I have to."

Jade smiled at her friend, pleased that her genuine happiness with her decision could cover her barely suppressible desire to laugh at the red velvet-haired girl describing somebody else as "crazy". The brunette also had her own news that she had been sitting on for a couple of days. Seeing her friend in higher spirits she felt that now was the time to fill her in.

"Beck and I are exclusive," she smiled. Cat gave a small squeal and clapped delightedly. "Yeah, we talked about it on New Year's Day and decided it was time."

"That's great!"

"Thanks."

* * *

"Hey, you're back!" a teen a few years older than Freddie greeted him with a malicious gleam in his eye as he emerged from the locker room. "Has your mommy said you can come out to play again?" His cronies laughed sycophantically behind him. André and Beck, who were flanking the former iCarly member, frowned at the kid; Freddie outright glared at him before stepping forward to stand toe-to-toe with him.

"Ooh, what are you going to do little boy?" he taunted.

"My _mommy_ may have let me out to play" the tech producer began calmly but snidely "but I'm going to send you running and crying home to yours after we spar today… unless of course you're too much of a coward to take me on."

"Bring it on Benson" the teen snarled, narrowing his eyes on the younger boy.

The bout was a one-sided embarrassment. An angry, inspired Freddie simply wiped the floor with his older opponent, silencing the boy's friends as he did. After sending him crashing to his rear for the fifth time Freddie ended it by pressing his epee gently against the kid's throat. He scuttled backwards crab-like before struggling to his feet and removing his face mask, revealing a look of astonishment. Freddie did likewise, though his look was more akin to smugness.

"Run along" he teased, waving his sword at the group. They headed his words, glaring darkly towards the Hollywood Arts trio as they did.

"Whoa man, that was awesome!" Beck enthused.

"You showed them" agreed André.

"You guys want to spar for a bit?" he asked. The two nodded and the three spent another hour practicing against one another (Freddie was a lot calmer and more relaxed against his friends) before, all pleading exhaustion, they called a halt to proceedings.

"So how are things with Cat?" André asked as they headed for the locker room.

"Better," the former tech producer answered, his smile broadening at the thought of the little red-head. "We talked a little after we did the play last term and then today we had a chance to talk between classes. I think we're good."

"That's great news. You two back together then?" Beck asked.

"No, that hasn't happened," Freddie answered, his smile faltering slightly. "We haven't talked about that so I don't know how she feels. I still like _her_ and I'd like us to try again, but I'm not sure she feels the same way."

"Then ask her," André suggested.

"Simple as that huh?" Freddie laughed.

Returning to his home Freddie prepared himself a quick meal from left-overs in the fridge; his mother was still at work. He was sat in his room afterwards when his hand brushed against the pocket of his jacket and he felt the rustle of the paper of Carly's letter. He retrieved and re-read it, scratching his chin as he thought about the whole situation. Finally he pulled his G5 from the pocket of his jeans and frowned in concentration as he tapped in a quick text. He read over it and hit _send_ before setting the phone down on his desk and gathering his books to do some studying. He had barely opened the first of his books, however, when his phone announced that he had a call. Finally he could smile as he read the name and accepted the call.

"Hey Carly, how are you?"

* * *

The former iCarly member felt in a very good mood the following morning as he entered school; he wasn't grounded anymore, he'd put the obnoxious kid well and truly in his place at the fencing studio and things were far less tense between himself and Carly. The biggest thing, though, was how much better things seemed between himself and Cat. He had thought a lot about what André had said but was unsure about whether to jeopardise the friendship they were rebuilding by rushing into anything; he also felt that it wasn't up to him to suggest that they try again at romance – she had broken things off so it was up to her to make the first move towards getting them back together. He hadn't fully made up his mind but was leaning towards not making any kind of a move any time soon.

A surprise was waiting for him, though, when he reached his locker; Lindsey was leaning nonchalantly against it, though she was clearly looking out for him as her posture stiffened subtly as she spotted him. All thoughts of the red-head fled instantly from his mind and his stomach gave a jolt when he saw the blonde in her tight white T-shirt, showing off the 15-year-old's burgeoning curves, and figure-hugging pale blue jeans.

"Hey" he greeted the sophomore girl. "How was your break?"

"Oh pretty good thanks Freddie, how about yours?"

"It was ok, mom and I spent most of it in Seattle; I got to catch up with an old friend – which was good, and saw some family – which wasn't so good" he finished with a laugh.

She laughed along with him before her face turned serious. "Freddie" she began with a deep breath; he turned to look at her. "Remember what happened after our last directing class?"

_How could I forget?_ thought the boy. Instead of saying that he simply gave a cautious "Yes" as a reply.

"One thing I did over the break was a lot of thinking, I mean… thinking about what I want."

The former Seattleite said nothing but continued to eye her apprehensively; he swallowed nervously as she pushed off from his locker and took a step towards him.

"I like you Freddie. I think you're cute and I'm interested." Freddie's eyebrows leapt a couple of inches up his forehead; she took another step towards him and was now uncomfortably close to the brown-haired freshman. "I just want to know, are we on the same page here?" her voice betrayed some nerves of her own at how he might respond, even as she stepped right up to him and looked deep into his brown eyes, leaning towards him.

The boy was caught a little by surprise and the nerves were evident in the tremor in his voice but he pushed them down as he quickly processed what was happening. Any thoughts of Cat were still side-lined, other than his most recent one about not wanting to risk what they had by complicating it again with romance. He liked the blonde, he had enjoyed their kiss last term and he thought she was hot so he pushed everything else to one side, his mind just thought _why not?_ and he made his choice by simply replying "We are" and he leaned in as well. The teens' lips met and the blonde's hands gripped his forearms as they kissed. It was a quick kiss before they moved apart, distracted by the whoops of a few spectators. The young couple smiled at one another before moving in for second, softer, slower kiss. They took their time to explore the sensations of it and savour every moment. Time seemed to have stopped for the pair and the universe may as well have disappeared for them; they were completely oblivious to the raucous response of the surrounding students.

Cat and Jade were walking through the main door to the school; the brunette paused just inside the school and looked to her equally confused friend as the two heard the cheering and cat-calls from their peers. The din sounded like it was coming from just around the corner.

"I love cat-calls" the shorter teen declared happily. "Because my name's Cat" she explained unnecessarily, causing her friend to roll her eyes in exasperation.

The two girls rounded the corner before the sight that greeted them brought them to an instant halt. Jade's jaw dropped at the sight of Freddie and Lindsey's locked lips; Cat squealed sharply as she processed the sight. Her lower lip began to wobble and she turned and ran from the school. Jade watched her go before turning back to the kissing couple. She bowed her head sadly at the thought of the whole situation before turning to go after Cat, reflecting ruefully that her friend had made her decision one day too late.

* * *

**AN: Ok, I know you all hate me for that ending but if you don't – or even if you do – please let me know what you think in the little box underneath here. And I hope to see you all back next week for the next instalment of this tale. Thanks for reading, PD31.**


	15. Chapter 14

**AN: Hello once again to all my readers and thank you for returning to this story. I hope you all enjoy the latest update.**

**As ever, before I start, I'd like to thank those of you who took the time and trouble to review the previous chapter.**

**Challenge King – thanks; I felt a letter was something tangible that he'd have to see, rather than just seeing he had an e-mail or text that he could easily delete unread. Having to pause for a second helped him to make the choice he did.**

**Agent-M – you're right; they're both 14 still and they probably need to date a few more people for the time being.**

**Little Miss Musical – I'll see what I can do about providing some more drama for you then! As for a couple name; Creddie is obviously taken so perhaps Caddie for our heroes?**

**That's everyone for this chapter; here's the story.**

* * *

Freddie hummed quietly to himself as he dressed; he was reflecting on the past week or so and how well his new relationship with Lindsey was going. Their first date had been a nice trip to the mall and a movie, finishing off with a quick meal at the mall's food court. He felt a pang of sadness as the thought of the mall inevitable reminded him of his brief time with Cat (because they had had their _own_ date at a mall) and that brought to mind how and why that had ended. With a wry smile he considered that one reason it was going so well between him and his blonde girlfriend could be that he had said _nothing_ to Marissa about her; he intended to keep it that way for as long as possible.

The boy's thoughts turned to his friends; initially they had all been surprised to learn that he was dating a tenth grade girl but the boys especially had been impressed by it. Jade was rather quiet about the whole thing, which surprised him (as he knew she wasn't particularly reticent when it came to voicing her opinions), and Cat seemed happy for him – which convinced him that he had made the right decision when it came to the two girls he liked and that she wanted nothing but friendship with him. He didn't know just how wrong he was.

A couple of miles away Cat rose after another night where she struggled for sleep; the girl with red velvet-coloured hair had cried herself to sleep the day she saw the boy she liked kissing the older blonde girl; she had blown off school and raced home in tears (Jade covered by informing everyone that she wasn't feeling well, a story Cat had been happy to stick to on her return to Hollywood Arts). Her tears had continued to flow for the rest of the day and, though the girl was continuing to put on a brave face around Freddie because she wanted him to be happy after all, the overwhelming feeling of misery was crushing her fragile spirit.

Freddie greeted his blonde girl with a quick kiss as they arrived outside their first class of the day, their first video class, which would involve reviewing movies, studying them and commenting on things beyond just the plotline and acting. The former tech producer was looking forward to it as he felt he could focus a lot on the things others might not see, such as camera angles, lighting and some of the other things he had first-hand experience of operating from his time on iCarly.

Some good things were still happening in her life, Cat reflected, as she walked to class; the girl had shown a natural aptitude for dance and had been moved from the beginner class to intermediate very quickly. Upon elevation to the new class she had taken a seat next to a girl called Christine. The brunette seemed upset and maybe that had caused the redheaded girl to gravitate towards her; from talking to her Cat learned that she had recently been dumped by a guy called Ryder. The name and story sounded familiar to the girl but she couldn't quite place where she'd heard it before.

She met up with her crush at break, acting as naturally as she could and being perfectly friendly around him. The boy was growing more and more concerned, however, that Jade continued to seem a little aloof towards him – as she had done for the last few days (he didn't have to do too much thinking to realise that it started at the time he and Lindsey began dating). Finally he decided to challenge her over it.

"What's up?" he asked her quietly, while Cat and the others led the way to Sikowitz's class.

Jade hesitated; what Cat had told her about wanting to try again with Freddie wasn't her secret to tell. The red-head had also told her, when Jade had checked on her in the evening after the day she'd blown off school, that she didn't want to get between them or spoil anything for Freddie (if she was being honest with herself the brunette also liked the former Seattleite, platonically, and didn't want to ruin things for him and Lindsey either). Cat had reasoned, and Jade had come to agree with her, that this wasn't his fault, that they weren't together, that he didn't know how she felt or what she had decided (just too late) and that he wasn't under any obligation to her. "I just hope he's happy with her" Cat had said, albeit in a very sad voice.

"The whole you and Lindsey thing," the gothic girl replied cautiously, "I just… thought you liked Cat" she said in a low voice, gesturing to her friend and hoping she didn't overhear; she didn't.

"I do," he sighed, "but we broke up and she's never hinted that she wants to try again; I can't say I blame her but… am I meant to put my life on hold forever hoping that she, mom and Carly will eventually get along or that she still even _likes_ me in the 'good way'?"

"I guess not," the brunette conceded through slightly gritted teeth.

Freddie took his seat next to Cat; the red velvet-haired girl was forcing her smile to stay in place.

"So Cat, I didn't really get to talk to you at break, how's things?" he asked brightly.

"Oh," she shrugged, "Not too bad. You?"

The boy smiled, accepting her answer. "I'm good thanks. Oh, I talked to Carly a few days ago."

"Really?" she sounded surprised but pleased. "I'm glad you guys are talking again."

"She mentioned something Spencer 'forgot' to tell me when I saw him in Seattle; she's still upset with him after he made a tree out of junk and it caught fire." In response to the girl's astonished look he supplied, "_Everything_ that guy touches catches fire – I don't understand it." He shook his head in mystification.

One time my brother set fire to…" the redhead began before she was interrupted.

"You fencing tonight, dude?" André asked as he slid into the seat next to them.

"I will be," he confirmed, looking at the dread-locked musician and silently thanking him for curtailing the bubbly girl's anecdote. "Lindsey and I are going to get something to eat after school but I'll be there afterwards."

It was fortunate that he was looking at André; Cat couldn't keep up her happy pretence at the news that he and Lindsey were going on a date and her face crumbled behind his back. She worked hard to fix the smile back on her face before he next looked at her.

Behind the group, Eli surveyed the situation cautiously. He hadn't failed to notice that Cat was an attractive girl and had watched the obvious attraction, and brief relationship, between her and Freddie with more than a little jealousy. Having learned that Freddie was dating another girl, he reasoned that he could try to have a shot himself with the little red-head. He figured the former tech producer was the best person to talk to about the girl's likes and dislikes and sought him out at the end of class.

"You got a second, Freddie?" he asked as the group were leaving the room.

The boy paused in the doorway and turned to him. Cat and Jade hovered behind him so he looked over his shoulder to them.

"I'll see you guys in the rec room in a few minutes." They nodded and left. "What did you want to talk about?" he asked curiously, turning his attention back to his sandy-blond haired friend.

"We're buds, right?" Eli began cautiously; Freddie nodded his agreement. "So I just wanted to know what you thought about me asking Cat out," he finished in a rush.

Freddie's eyes widened in surprise; he wasn't expecting either Eli to show an interest, or him to talk to him about it.

"I know you two dated," the blond pressed on, "and I don't want to do anything that might screw up our friendship…"

"Don't worry," Freddie interrupted with a smile. "I'm dating Lindsey and I think it would be great if you and her dated. Go for it; I want her to be happy." Then he sighed. "I would have loved her to be happy with _me_ but it wasn't to be."

"Awesome. What sort of things does she like?"

"Uh, cupcakes, giraffes, unicorns, the Waggafuffles," he winced slightly at the memory then grinned at Eli's bewildered face, "Look, just start with something like a movie and a walk round the stores at the mall, take it from there. She's deceptively strong-willed; she'll let you know what she wants to do." He smirked a little at the memory, a pang of regret tempering his mood.

"That's great, thanks dude; I'll ask her after sometime." He gave the brown-haired boy a gentle, playful tap on the upper arm and sped out of the room. Shaking his head, Freddie followed, coming across his girlfriend en route to the rec room.

"Hey you," she smiled broadly.

"Hey," he returned with a smile of his own and quickly took her hand; she squeezed his gently in affection. "I was just heading to the rec room to meet the gang for some ping pong; you want to come along?"

"I can't," she groaned with a genuine pang of regret in her voice. "I'm meeting some of _my_ friends to rehearse a play we're putting on, independent of class," she clarified. "I was actually wondering if you wanted to watch. We could do the rec room tomorrow?"

"Sure," he conceded, "let me just look in and let them know – since I told them I'd see them there; don't want them sending out a search party," he laughed.

The new couple headed via the rec room; the group were disappointed about his absence (privately Robbie was happy and Cat upset, particularly because he was going to be with Lindsey) but put on happy faces for him while he was there.

"Blowing us off…" muttered Beck once the boy had gone.

"You wouldn't blow these losers off for _me_?" Jade challenged wickedly and grinning round the room at the affront she had caused.

"I guess," he shrugged, draping his arm around her and pulling her closer to him.

Mindful of his 'mini-date' before he went fencing, Freddie had brought his equipment bag into school with him and had to bring it on the date, leaving it, along with their school bags, in the corner of El Taco Guapo as the couple found a nearby table to sit at. Freddie's chuckle drew a curious glance from Lindsey.

"It's just… not the most romantic location for a date really is it?" he explained.

"It's the company not the venue that's important," she replied with a smile, taking his hand and tugging it playfully. He smiled back at her and stole a quick kiss before they turned to their menus.

Far later than he expected, the couple were finished and gathered their belongings as they got ready to leave the restaurant. Freddie yelped in horror as he checked his watch.

"What is it?" a curious and slightly worried Lindsey asked.

"I usually meet the guys at six at the studio; it's just after seven!" Then he smiled at her. "Time flies when you're having fun."

"You need to go then," she said with a smile, "You need to meet your friends and get home before your mom freaks out…"

"You don't know how right you are," he complained. She smiled again.

"I'll see you tomorrow" and she gave him a goodbye kiss as they parted.

The boy made his way as quickly as he could to the Swordplay studio, arriving just as his friends were heading for the locker room.

"Hey, finally!" Beck noted. "We've just finished."

"Sorry guys, we lost track of time."

"Well, we we've been here since six and now I gotta get home and then meet Jade so I have to go. Sorry bud."

"Yeah, I got an assignment due that I need to finish; I can't stay either," André told him apologetically.

"Ok guys, there'll be someone here I can spar with," Freddie said sadly. He went to the locker room with them and the three teens changed, one getting ready to fence, the other two to leave.

Freddie spent an hour sparring with some willing volunteers, enjoying the opportunity to test his skills against some different opponents. He did, however, avoid the group of sixteen-year-olds he had clashed with the previous week. Finally, around 8:30, he thanked the others and returned to the locker room, changing and leaving the studio, walking straight into the group's ambush as he did. Two of them seized his arms and slammed him roughly against the wall of the studio; he dropped his bags as they did. The ringleader then stepped up to him with the last of the gang stood behind him and both grinning evilly at their restrained quarry.

"Hello mommy's boy," he leered, "Fancy seeing you here all alone."

Seeing the odds stacked against him, along with the boys' menacing demeanour, Freddie's nervousness about the situation was beginning to increase rapidly; he intensified his struggle to extricate himself from the two sidekicks who held his arms in vice-like grips. A solid fist to his stomach stopped his battle; he doubled over as much as the thugs would allow him and heard the mocking laughter of the four older boys. The leader then threw his next punch, connecting viciously with the left-hand side of Freddie's jaw, snapping his head to the side. The goon holding his right arm used his free hand to deliver a rough face palm to the younger teen, rocking his head back into the wall. A punch to the right hand side of his nose exposed his face to the other kid, who repeated his friend's face palm. The leader then delivered two more sharp blows to Freddie's stomach before grabbing his jaw roughly, taking care to put pressure on the points of the impact of the previous blows, which were already feeling tender; the boy wondered if bruises could already be starting to form.

"Who's going to go running home to his mommy crying now?" he taunted, releasing Freddie before delivering another blow to his jaw and sending him sprawling on the floor; the boys turned and left him, the last member of the gang kicked his school bag across the parking lot as they walked away laughing. The brown-haired boy groaned and struggled to his feet once they were out of sight, touching his throbbing injuries gingerly to gauge the extent of the damage. He winced as he hoisted his fencing bag onto his right shoulder and hobbled across the parking lot to retrieve his school bag before heading slowly for the bus stop.

"Freddie, you're late…" Marissa began as he walked through the door before the sight of her son halted her tirade with a gasp. "What happened to you? Are you alright?" she wailed and rushed towards him, pulling him into her arms.

"Mom, I'm fine," he protested as he tried to squirm free without aggravating his wounds, "I just got roughed up a little by some of the kids at the studio."

"_Just?_" the Benson matriarch screeched. "I knew fencing was dangerous and I shouldn't let you do it!"

"Mom, it's not the fencing," he argued as he sat down on the couch and pulled off his shoes, "well, not really. They were laughing at me last week so I took them on and I embarrassed them – so tonight they were waiting for me and got their revenge."

"What were they laughing at you about?"

"About you showing up and dragging me out of there before Christmas."

"I'm calling the police," she announced, reaching for the house phone and grateful of the opportunity to change the subject.

"Don't bother," he commented, "there were four of them and no CCTV; all they have to do is say the same thing, that none of them were involved or saw anything, they can all alibi each other and then it's one word against four."

"What about your friends?" Marissa wondered. "Where were those two boys you go with?"

"They'd gone home already," he told her, hoping not to have to explain why; he wanted to keep Lindsey a secret for a while longer yet.

"They just left you there alone?" she asked in horror; he nodded. "I think you need to find yourself some better friends Freddie."

He said nothing but mulled over the veracity of her statement.

"I'm still not happy about you going back there, Freddie," she continued. "What's wrong with the mother-and-son sewing classes I found?"

"Mom!" he whined. "For one thing they were mother-and-_daughter_; I'd be the only guy there!"

"Well what about starting up ballet again?"

Freddie groaned in anguish; his mother pulled out her first aid kit and began the task of cleaning and dressing his injuries.

* * *

"Oh my God! Freddie!" Lindsey cried in horror as she saw her boyfriend arrive in the Asphalt Café the following morning. "What happened to you?" she asked, her eyes softening as she gently caressed his bruised face.

Hearing the blonde shout Freddie's name like that, Cat, who was sat with Jade, Beck and André at a neighbouring table, where the red-head had been warily eyeing her rival, leapt to her feet, suppressing her instinctive reaction to get as far from the couple as she could, and walked over to the boy so she could take in his wounded appearance.

"Are you ok?" she asked in a soft voice. Lindsey turned to the red-head, looking at the child-like teen with slight suspicion as she expressed her concern for her ex-boyfriend. The blonde also noted Jade following Cat over to them.

"Yeah, I'm ok," he reassured her with a warm smile before turning to the tenth grader. "These guys at the fencing studio attacked me outside of it as I was leaving… we had a disagreement last week and they got their own back yesterday."

"Does it hurt a lot?" Jade asked, gently poking the boy's bruises with her right index finger and smirking slightly as he winced. "Where the hell were _you_ when those guys set on him?" she rounded her boyfriend and André as the duo left the table and joined the gathering.

"I left… to meet you," he replied calmly, "Freddie was late arriving after his date," he shot a look at the blonde; she scowled back at him, clearly having no intention of backing down, "we were done so we left."

Despite his explanation, Jade wasn't satisfied. "Still," she snapped, "you shouldn't leave _your friend_ alone when you _know_ there's an issue with those guys."

"You were the one who said yesterday that I should blow my friends off to meet you," he reminded her in an exasperated tone as he lost his cool with the girl. Freddie and Lindsey looked at one another in surprise at this little bit of information and the elevation of tensions between the freshman couple.

"There's a difference between blowing people off and leaving them alone with people you _know_ are going to be out to get them," she shot back.

"Sorry man," muttered the songsmith in an embarrassed tone.

"Yeah, sorry," the Canadian actor echoed, both out of remorse for his friend's injuries and a willingness to concede the point in order to prevent a public argument with Jade. Freddie nodded to the pair and allowed Lindsey to guide him away from the table and inside the school; Cat watched sadly as they left. Jade followed the girl's eyes and gave her a quick one-armed squeeze in consolation, receiving a wan smile in return.

"Good Ghandi, what happened to you Freddie?" Sikowitz asked in astonishment as the boy arrived in his room just before the start of class.

"Some older kids at fencing had a score to settle with me," he shrugged.

"Yes, well," the eccentric teacher replied, "I hope you're ok."

"Oh I'm fine," he reassured with bravado, "it looks worse than it hurts." He did wince slightly, however, as he sank into his chair, something that did not go unnoticed by Cat, who was hovering by his left hand side. Eli, who was already in his seat behind them, frowned slightly; he was torn between concern for Freddie and fearing being thwarted in his efforts to date Cat before they even began, given how the red-head was acting towards his friend. His own concern won out and he moved to Freddie's other side.

"You sure you're ok, dude?" he asked.

"I will be," he said in a confident tone. "Thanks for asking, I'm good." He raised his hand for a fist-bump; the sandy-blond complied with a smile.

"Ok, let's begin," called Sikowitz, seeing the rest of the group had arrived.

* * *

The freshmen's classes went well during the morning; true to her word Lindsey joined them in the rec room for lunch, though by the end of the lunch period it had become apparent to the blonde that it wasn't for her.

"I don't think I'll be doing this again," she told Freddie quietly as they left, hand in hand. "Ping pong's not really my thing."

"Ok, it's not for everyone. Maybe we can do the Asphalt Café on a lunchtime instead?" he suggested.

"Yeah, I like your friends – it's not them that's the problem – I'm just not into the ping pong side of it."

"I'll talk to them," he said, placing a peck on her cheek.

They reached the locker area and separated briefly to prepare themselves for their respective afternoons; Freddie's friends arrived a few moments later. Cat continued to eye the couple morosely, much to Jade's concern.

Once he was ready, Freddie walked over to his girlfriend.

"So, I'll see you later?"

"Definitely," she answered, planting a kiss on his lips and yielding to the urge to linger in the activity. Again they were subject to whistles and whoops from the surrounding student body, still unaccustomed to seeing the pair together, or their little PDAs. Across the hallway Cat felt the familiar sting in her eyes, followed by Jade's arm around her shoulders.

* * *

**AN: Thank you all for reading. All reviews and feedback are gratefully received; don't be shy about leaving a comment. I hope to see you all next week. PD**


	16. Chapter 15

**AN: Hello everyone and a happy Thanksgiving to my American readers. Thanks as always are due to those who read and provided reviews and feedback on Chapter 14.**

**LittleMissMusical – sympathy for Cat is quite justifiable, given where the poor girl is at right about now. As for any motivations Lindsey may have… well, you'll have to keep reading to discover them.**

**Challenge King – the reactions of the "other girls" in Freddie's life will be explored over the next couple of chapters.**

**Agent M – Lindsey and Freddie are in a slightly difficult position, being in different year groups and with different groups of friends. It's a juggling act to keep everyone happy and one could equally argue that it's unreasonable to expect her to hang with Freddie's friends at the expense of her own. **

**Cat did make her choice and we've seen how she feels about it now. Maybe things will work out with Eli, or for Freddie and Lindsey, or maybe she'll get a chance to put things right eventually. As for Freddie walking away calmly after the incident, he was roughed up but he knows how Marissa is and perhaps just didn't want her to freak to the point of wrapping him literally in cotton wool and never allowing him to leave the house again.**

* * *

"Hey Cat, wait up." Eli called as he rushed across the Asphalt Café; it was Tuesday morning, just before school was due to start. The red-head turned towards the sandy-blond, slightly surprised at the call and she looked expectantly at him, waiting for him to explain his call; Jade, who was stood by her side, tapped her foot impatiently and pointedly stared at her watch. The boy ignored her, gently guiding Cat by the arm so they could have a couple of paces privacy. "I was wondering," he began quietly, "if you wanted to go on a date with me on Friday. Maybe hang at the mall, get something to eat?"

"Oh that'd be great!" she clapped, smiling at him. The girl hadn't expected this at all but, from what she knew of Eli from their limited dealings with one another, the pair was on friendly terms. Part of her accepted the need to do something to distract her from the idea of Freddie and Lindsey; she figured 'why not?'

"Cool; I'll pick you up at seven and we can head to the mall?"

"'Kay 'kay" she smiled. He returned it as he headed inside.

"What was that all about?" Jade pried as she sidled up to her friend.

"Oh, we're going to dinner and the mall together on Friday night," Cat informed her nonchalantly before a broad smile grew on her face.

Jade was surprised but held her tongue. "Have fun," she said, putting on a warm tone that even surprised herself. "We need to get to class," she noted as the bell sounded; seeing Cat rooted to the spot and staring vacantly into space she seized the girl's bag, which as Cat was wearing it on her shoulder, meant that as she walked she dragged it, and the eighty-pound red-head, inside the school.

As they walked, the red velvet-haired girl reflected on her sudden, new-found happiness that stemmed from being asked out. She had needed something to improve her mood as she was becoming more and more disappointed by the fact that Freddie had been missing their ping pong games in the rec room on a lunchtime recently.

"We never see you anymore at lunch," she complained at the end of Sikowitz's lesson the day before.

"Sorry guys," he had explained, "Lindsey's just not into ping pong"; the blonde had joined the freshmen one day the previous week but she felt that the game really wasn't for her. "We're not in too many classes together, unlike you guys," he addressed this particular comment to Beck and Jade, "and I want to spend time with her – that means I can't play ping pong with you all." He looked upset about it but was in the unenviable position of having to manage his time between his friends and his girlfriend. The fact that she was in the year above them was an added complication when it came to the thought of the tenth grader hanging a group that was a year younger than her on a regular basis. "She did say she'd like us to hang with you all sometimes, maybe in the Asphalt Café, just not the rec room. Perhaps we could all hit the Grub Truck one day?"

"We could do that tomorrow," André suggested.

The others agreed, Cat with an eagerness (of spending time with Freddie) tempered with a reluctance (to spend time watching Freddie be with Lindsey). Freddie smiled broadly at his friends.

He was in a different class to them all just before lunch on Wednesdays but let them know that he'd spoken to Lindsey and they made plans to do lunch as a group.

"How do you get on with _her _friends?" Beck asked the former Seattleite thoughtfully; the two boys had picked up their lunch orders and had been able to claim a free table while the rest, including Freddie's blonde girlfriend, waited for their food.

"They've been ok," was the cautious reply he was given. "She doesn't hang with any guys – so not the mix like _we_ have – and I get the impression that one or two of them don't like the idea of a ninth grader being around them all the time. They put on smiles and they sound pleasant enough when talking to me but… something in their eyes makes me think they're not being altogether genuine about it."

"Have you talked to her about it?" Beck nodded towards the sophomore as she, André and Robbie approached the table.

"No, I could be reading too much into it and I don't want to risk making things awkward for her with her friends," Freddie lowered his voice to reduce the risk of being overheard.

Beck shrugged, somewhat at a loss about what to say – obviously he and Jade didn't have any of those issues to overcome – and returned to his food as the trio sat down with them, the two boys opposite them, Lindsey slid in next to her boyfriend. Cat and Jade arrived to have completed the group shortly after before Eli surprised them by appearing at the red-head's shoulder.

"Room for one more?" he asked the table with a smile.

"Sure," they all agreed. Cat slid over slightly to make room; Jade didn't complain too much as she simply pressed closer to Beck, smiling at her boy as she did. Robbie's face fell as Eli sat comfortably close to Cat, something that wasn't lost on Lindsey. The blonde smiled as she tucked the observation into the corner of her mind and stole a bite of Freddie's lunch; he retaliated by eating part of hers. The couple's antics descended into a playful battle, much to the amusement of their friends.

"You two are so cute together," Eli laughed as he and Freddie entered their next class; the group had gradually splintered after lunch as they made their way to their respective lessons. The sandy-blond had noted with interest the interplay between Freddie and Lindsey, mentally taking notes as he decided how to play things when he and Cat went out on the Friday.

Freddie joined his laughter. "You think?" he asked airily and curiously; he hadn't given much thought to how he and his girlfriend looked to other people.

"Yeah, you make a sweet couple."

"Thanks. Speaking of couples, did you ask Cat out? I see you two looked rather cosy at the table."

"I did, we're going to the mall on Friday; I can't wait."

"I hope you both have fun," Freddie told him sincerely.

"Thanks dude." The conversation was curtailed at that point by their teacher's arrival.

* * *

Cat hummed happily to herself as she walked around her bedroom after getting home. She headed to her closet and began looking through her clothing, deciding what to wear for her date. She pulled out a couple of tops and held one after the other against her body as she looked at the appearance in the mirror.

"Hi sweetie," Mrs Valentine's head appeared in the doorway; she wore a smile at seeing her daughter's mood appear better, as the girl had been down pretty much since school started again. "Something good happen today?"

"Yes, mom, this boy, Eli, asked me to go out with him on Friday." Her tone was happy enough but her mother noticed that it still lacked the excited bubbliness it often carried, particularly the bubbliness that she would expect the girl to deliver that sort of news with.

"Eli…" her mother frowned slightly as she thought. "Oh, the blond boy who auditioned the same day as you and – " before biting her tongue, not wanting to bring up the name of the brown-haired boy who she blamed for being (however inadvertently he actually was) the cause of her daughter's misery over the past few weeks.

"Yes, he, Freddie," Mrs Valentine could not fail to notice the warmth with which her daughter's ex-boyfriend's name still rolled off her tongue and brought a brief extra shine to her eyes, "and I all auditioned together. He asked me this morning so we're going Friday night. I'm just deciding what to wear."

"I've always liked the pink," her mother said. Cat held the appropriate top against her again and appraised her reflection before nodding happily.

"'Kay 'kay, the pink it is," she giggled.

* * *

Across Hollywood, Freddie was busy composing a quick text message. He sent it off and picked up a pad of paper and a pen then began to write, pausing thoughtfully on occasion then continuing. A beep of his phone distracted him and he read the message with a smile before closing the pad and pushing it to one side, his laptop replacing it in front of him on his desk. He opened the computer and logged in to the video chat software and accepting the request that appeared almost instantly from the brunette whose face then filled the screen.

"Hey Carls, how's it going?" Freddie greeted her brightly.

"I'm good thanks, how are you?"

"Good; really, _really_ good," he smiled as he thought of Lindsey.

"Ooh, someone's happy," the brunette teased.

"I am, yes," he confirmed sincerely.

"Tell me more," Carly sat up straight, intrigued at what was having such a positive effect on her tentative-friend's mood.

"She's blonde, a year older than us, and she likes me," he smiled in satisfaction.

"Wow," Carly was at a loss for what to say in response to this news so she plumbed for the obvious, "what's her name?"

"Lindsey," the name rolled off Freddie's tongue and he stared vacantly into space as he pictured the blonde sophomore in his mind's eye.

"Wait – what about Cat?" Carly was confused. Her voice drew Freddie from his reverie.

"Cat and I are friends, nothing more," he said, and Carly noted a tinge of sadness enter his voice, "not since… well, last year," he didn't want to explicitly blame Carly, now that they were talking again, "she's actually dating a friend of mine; I hope it works out for them," he concluded with a smile.

"Oh, well that's great if everything's good for you – and her," before continuing in a more morose tone, "I broke up with my guy, it just wasn't to be. He still does the camera work for iCarly, which is a little awkward sometimes, but we're good." A thought then occurred to the web-hostess. "So what does your mom think of this new girl in your life?"

"She doesn't know," Freddie admitted, "After what happened last time I think it's safer to keep her as far away from Lindsey as I can."

"Smart," Carly concurred, feeling embarrassed ad Freddie dredged up 'last time' and hoping that he wouldn't explore her part in it. "Have you met her parents?"

"Not yet, we've only been dating a couple of weeks."

"She'll have to meet your mom soon though won't she? Y'know, your _birthday_ next week?"

"Yeah," he said flatly as he thought about the prospect of introducing Lindsey to Marissa, "mom's throwing a party here and she's pushing me for numbers."

"I wish I could be there," the brunette said sincerely. "What's she gonna say when she sees Cat _and_ Lindsey on there? Hell, what are _they _gonna say when they're both there together?"

"Cat's cool with it; we all hang together a lot of lunchtimes so she's used to being around Lindsey and I and, like I said, she's dating Eli now so it will all be good."

Carly eyed him doubtfully but kept her counsel; she felt that she had done enough damage to their friendship for one lifetime already. Something else occurred to her as she peered closer at the screen. What may have appeared to be a trick of the light she was now forced to conclude wasn't.

"What happened to your face?" she asked in concern.

"Oh," he said, touching the bruises gently, as if he'd only just remembered they were there, "I got into a fight with some kids at fencing last week."

"A fight?" Carly was shocked at the mild-mannered boy's news.

"Yeah, they were teasing me about my mom, she embarrassed me a little last term at the studio, so I embarrassed _them_ when we were fencing a couple of weeks ago." He sighed and concluded, "so last week they waited outside for me to leave, grabbed me and took a few free shots."

"That's awful," Carly gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. "What did your mom say?"

"That I should take up ballet again," his voice was deadpan but his words elicited a laugh from the brown-haired girl. He gave an involuntary smile at her response.

"Sounds like your mom. Are you alright though?"

"Yeah," he shrugged, "it hurt a little at the time but I'm good now."

"Wait, don't you normally go fencing with your friends?"

"I was out with Lindsey so I was late meeting them and they left as I got there."

"Oh." Again the brunette web-starlet bit her tongue, not wanting to say something the boy may not want her to.

The two chatted about the other things happening in their lives, schoolwork, Spencer and their friends. Freddie realised, with a little regret, that their mutual friends from their old school, and his old city, were no longer in the lives of _either_ of them; Carly seemed to have completely cut ties with her former life and the people at Ridgeway since her move to Briarwood. "I just didn't have the time to keep in touch with them and time went on without talking until now I just have a completely separate life to them all," she admitted. He also noted that the girl made no mention of having visited Sam when he asked about what she had been doing or about her friends. The news saddened him a little, particularly the thought of the dirty-blonde reprobate sitting there, day after day, with no visitors and minimal contact with the outside world.

Having finished the call, Freddie turned his attention back to that other girl in Seattle who he wanted to stay in touch with. He pulled his pad of paper back to him and picked up his pen again, flicking the pad open and reviewing what he'd already written. He put the finishing touches to his letter and addressed the large envelope to the Juvenile Penitentiary in Seattle. He slipped the note inside and smiled as he reached into his bag, pulling out the two Fat Cakes he'd bought earlier. He dropped them in the envelope, sealed it and affixed a stamp. He jogged down the stairs, to his mother's chagrin and complaint, and slipped outside to place the envelope in the mail box.

"Enjoy them, Sam," he whispered as he closed the box and turned to head back inside.

* * *

"Freddie," Lindsey began as they left Hollywood Arts together, hand-in-hand, at the end of the school day.

"What is it?" the brown-haired boy asked curiously.

"Oh nothing big, just wondering if you had any plans for tonight," she commented airily.

"No, none," he shrugged. "You want to do something?"

"I thought we could catch a movie," she suggested.

"Sounds good to me; let's go."

The couple made their way serenely to the cinema and looked at what was showing. In the timeslot they'd chosen the best option was an action movie that Freddie was quite interested in seeing. He campaigned a little for it and Lindsey was willing enough so they bought their tickets for the next showing and, realising that they had just under an hour, went to the next-door Food Court to get a quick bite to eat.

An hour into the screening Freddie was enjoying the film, though he noticed that his girlfriend was far less enthused by it. He took her hand midway through and squeezed it, drawing her attention to him.

"Thank you," he told her in a grateful whisper before giving her a quick peck on the cheek. She smiled and turned to kiss him tenderly, like Carly she had noted that his face was still a little bruised from his recent beating so she took care to avoid exerting any pressure on his injuries. One kiss turned into a second, and a third; soon the young couple were more engrossed in each other than the film, though Freddie did try to follow it from the corner of his eye. As usual he allowed her to take charge of their kissing session; she was more experienced after all so he allowed himself to process what she was doing, to try and learn from it and then repeat some of it, while still exploring and enjoying the sensations. Internally she felt a happy warmth from his shy, tentative advances (when he made them) and made a mental note to hold a little "tutoring session"; it was something she remembered as they were leaving the cinema hand in hand.

"Come here," she urged, leading him to the far corner of the Food Court, somewhere deserted that they could at least pretend that they had a little privacy. "Lean in," she instructed, staying stock still as he did. "Start gently then increase the pressure gradually, maybe suck in softly as you do, just to change the feeling and texture a little. Try it, then just do to me what you like me doing to you."

He did and they were both enjoying him taking charge of their kisses for once, ignoring the sparse traffic making its way around the Court.

"Yes Freddie, take control," the blonde breathed; she loved the feeling of her boy starting gently and timidly but growing in confidence all the time and putting more and more into each kiss that he gave her.

Feeling adventurous, he moved his right hand to her jean-covered thigh while his left arm snaked around her back; her hands locked behind his neck. There was nothing to stop the teenagers spending the rest of the evening practicing their kissing while lost in one another's embrace…

"Lindsey!" The casual-sounding call caused the couple to pull apart in shock and turn to the voice's owner. Lindsey's mother noticed with amusement the flushed look on her daughter's face, matched by the one on (she assumed) her boyfriend's; the latter's colour was rapidly reddening as she eyed him, keeping her face straight and expression even as she sized up the boy who was making out with her daughter.

"Hi mom, this is Freddie," the blonde's tone was as conversational as she could muster, having just been caught by her mother in a rather intimate moment. She squeezed her brown-haired boy's hand in what she hoped was a reassuring manner.

"Hello," Freddie greeted nervously, offering the older lady his free hand as he appraised her; he could definitely see a lot of Lindsey in her mother. She shook it briefly before turning back to his girlfriend.

"Sorry to disturb you kids but we need to be getting home Linds," she smiled warmly at her daughter, who nodded.

"Oh hey dad," she greeted as she spotted him a few paces behind her mother; he crossed the short distance and joined the small gathering.

"Hi sweetie," he said warmly before turning to the 14-year-old with a challenging stare. "Freddie, I assume?"

"Yes, sir," he confirmed, his already-present nerves building by the second, shaking the man's hand in turn and trying to maintain eye-contact while hoping that the guy hadn't been stood there watching him make out with his daughter.

"Well it was nice to finally meet you Freddie," Lindsey's mother told him before jerking her head slightly in his girlfriend's direction and giving her daughter a teasing smile, "She won't stop talking about you. Let's go Linds."

Lindsey leaned in and kissed his cheek before she and her parents departed; having been left alone Freddie decided to call an end to the evening as well and he made his way out of the mall and in the direction of the bus stop, knowing that his mother was working late this evening so she would be unable to pick him up.

* * *

"Hey babe," Lindsey greeted Freddie with a smile and a peck on the lips the next morning in the Asphalt Café. She dropped the smile as she continued, "I'm sorry about last night; it wasn't the ideal way to meet the girlfriend's parents."

"Oh don't worry," he waved dismissively, "it wasn't _that _bad."

"Well for what it's worth they liked you," she told him before whispering conspiratorially, "I like you too," and kissing him again, slower and longer this time.

When they pulled apart Freddie could see Cat and Eli walking hand in hand across the café; he waved at the couple and the sandy-blond waved back; he changed their direction to approach the couple. Cat smiled in their direction but did not wave, as her other hand was clutching a large bag of candy.

"Look what Eli bought me!" she cried excitedly and happily, indicating the bag. Freddie looked at his friend; he shook his head with a suggestion of regret at the gift he had bought the girl. He would later disclose that this was the second bag he'd bought for Cat (even though their official date wasn't until this evening they'd hung out together the previous night) and she'd already eaten the first of them.

"So when will I meet _your_ mom?" Lindsey asked, smiling at him and drawing his attention back to her and away from his classmates.

"Oh," he said, caught a little off-guard. "Hopefully never," he blurted out then, immediately regretting it because of the look of hurt on his girlfriend's face, he elaborated, "I told you what she did to Cat, remember?"

"I'm not worried about what she'd try to do," she laughed, "especially if you give her a bit of warning that I'll be there," she suggested.

"I… kinda haven't told her that I'm dating anyone," he admitted a little shamefully. "I know how she gets and I didn't want the grief from her."

Seeing her face fall he insisted quickly, "I _want_ to tell her and I want the world to know that you're my girlfriend; it's _really_ not that I feel the need to keep you a secret, it's just… my mom's kinda… what's the word… crazy." Noting that she still looked unconvinced he brightened his tone, "It's my birthday next week and she's throwing a party at our house; you'll meet her there and we can tell her then?"

Slightly mollified, the girl nodded. He leaned in for a kiss and she willingly returned it. The uncomfortable conversation seemed a distant memory as they stood kissing for a few minutes before the bell rang. They would have continued kissing but for Jade, sat with Beck at the next table, none-too-gently tugging the back of his shirt and commenting that they'll be late for class if they don't move soon. They shared a guilty smile and followed his classmates inside.

* * *

Because of Lindsey not wanting to play ping pong, the gang were, once again, eating their lunch in the Asphalt Café. They all (apart from Robbie) sat at a table; the curly-haired ventriloquist's absence did not go unnoticed.

"Where _is_ Robbie?" Cat asked her friends as she popped another piece of candy into her mouth.

"There he is," Eli noted, pointing across the café to the far side. The others followed his finger and watched as the puppet-master ran across his line of sight; a group of older kids were in hot pursuit.

"Uh, why are they all chasing him?" Freddie asked with a laugh.

"He wrote a bad review of a play for the school paper," Jade informed him.

"Artists are a temperamental bunch," Beck commented philosophically.

"You'd think they'd have learned something from the Bird Scene," Freddie said thoughtfully.

"Is that Trina Vega at the front?" Lindsey spoke up as she took a good look at the chasing group as they raced across the café again. "Oh my God, she _does_ bite; no wonder the play sucked if they cast _her_ in it!"

"Should we help him?" wondered André.

"No," Jade's answer was simple but her tone forceful as she returned to her burrito.

Eventually Robbie managed to extricate himself from the incensed older students and struggled over to his friends; he was aggrieved to see the amusement on their faces, which tempered any sympathy they may have felt for him.

"It's not funny!" he protested. "I wrote a review last week that someone hated; they _kidnapped_ Rex and wouldn't give him back until I wrote a good one." Hearing their laughter intensify he complained, "They started pinning body parts from him to my locker; an arm, a leg…" Seeing that he was _still_ getting no sympathy from them, the curly-haired boy walked off in a huff.

"It's… not… real," Freddie choked out through his laughter.

"To Robbie he is," André pointed out, his grin fading momentarily.

* * *

Eli arrived at the Valentine residence and stood nervously as he looked up the path at the front door. He swallowed a couple of times before gathering his courage and striding up to the door, rapping firmly on it a couple of times. It opened a few moments later to reveal Cat's grinning face and vivid red hair.

"Hi," she greeted him with a quick hug.

"Hey," he returned. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah, I am ready," she declared elatedly, poking him gently in the midriff with each syllable.

"Right, then let's get going." He offered his hand and she took it.

"Bye mom!" she called over her shoulder before closing the door behind her and the two walked hand-in-hand to the mall.

The teenage couple began their evening at the Food Court. Cat opted for a sweet and sour chicken from the Chinese stand; Eli looked around a little before deciding on the same. They chatted about school, their classes and work while they ate and, having eaten, they then walked amiably around the mall for a couple of hours; Cat dragged Eli into several stores and he waited patiently while she looked at a number of different articles of clothing and several pairs of shoes. He looked at a few things himself but it was clear who was in charge of the timing of this little excursion; once she had seen what she wanted to she would take his hand again and walk out of the store with him.

"Ooh, let's go for waffles!" she cried as they left one store and, seizing his hand, she hauled him back over to the Food Court. The sandy-haired boy considered protesting but thought better of it, recalling Freddie's caution about her being deceptively strong-willed; it was something he was already experiencing. They enjoyed their treat and, after a little more window shopping, he walked her home at the end of the night. As he left the Valentine residence, however, he found himself wondering what exactly he was getting himself into.

* * *

**AN: Thank you all for reading; please let me know what you thought of it. Hopefully the next chapter will be up next week but all depends on iGoodbye tomorrow; if Dan decides to revisit Seddie and thus leave the show with the message that Domestic Abuse is not only acceptable but funny, that the abuser never pays for (and is in fact rewarded) for her actions and that the victim will never have a happy ending, instead he will continue to be brow-beaten into accepting victim status as his lot in life then it will destroy any respect I have left for him and the Nickelodeon network and will almost certainly lead to me giving up writing on his shows. I hope that will not be the case. PD**


	17. Chapter 16

**AN: Hello again to all my readers. As you can see, by my continuation of this, iGoodbye went pretty well from my PoV (I didn't get my OTP but then I was never likely to really). It was bittersweet but the Creddie endgame was pretty good to see. As always my thanks go out to all of you for reading and reviewing the last chapter.**

**Challenge King – evil… not exactly what I was aiming for but certainly uncomfortable was. The Cat/Eli stuff will be investigated again in some more detail a little later on.**

**BushwellFanNYC – thank you.**

**Guest – Hmm, a love swap? Nothing's impossible; we'll have to see about that one. Some of you may not feel too kindly towards Lindsey before we're out with the next couple of chapters.**

**Agent-M – I can't blame Freddie for wanting to keep a girl away from his mother, especially in light of what happened with Cat, but I can equally understand if Lindsey is feeling that it's because he thinks there's something wrong in their relationship. Certainly something to watch as it all unfolds. And yes, Freddie's older, more experienced girlfriend is getting him a little TV-G action.**

**As I said above, we'll learn more about Eli/Cat as things go.**

**ArtisticAngel6 – thanks, I'm glad that you're loving the story so far. Tori WILL appear at Hollywood Arts, of course, but that's about a year away from where we are now in the timeline (unless we need to have a Trina scene at the Vega house and she makes a "guest appearance"). Carly and Sam **_**will**_** pop up time and again but as this is really a Victorious plus Freddie they're not going to be major figures in it. As for Cat/Freddie getting back together… all I can say is keep reading to see how the romantic lives of all our main characters end up.**

**What I will say (and have already said to a couple of you via PM) is that this particular story will conclude at the end of the school year. I will be back with the new academic year for them but it will be as part of a new story. I'll also take a short break at that point while I work on some other projects I want to publish. I expect the school year to end with Chapter 21 or 22.**

**Now please enjoy Chapter 16.**

* * *

"Cat, Eli," Freddie called as he arrived at school and spied the new freshman couple sat alone at a table in the Asphalt Café. They turned to him and the sandy-blond greeted him with a left-handed wave; his right was interlaced with the red-head's left; she removed her right from his arm and waved it at her friend.

"'Sup Freddie?" he asked.

"You guys know it's my birthday later this week, right?" They nodded acknowledgement. "Well, my mom's throwing a small party at our house on Saturday and I hope you'll both be there."

"Oh that would be great!" Cat shouted and clapped her hands in joy before Eli could respond.

"Yeah, I'll be there," he confirmed. He would have said yes anyway, but Cat had taken the decision somewhat out of his hands.

"Awesome; catch you both later." He smiled and went off to find his girlfriend, thankful that he was getting closer to finalising numbers for his birthday party; Marissa was hassling him to do so (as the day of the party was drawing ever nearer hers was not an unreasonable position – for once).

At school, Lindsey was having a far tougher time of things than he was when it came to their blossoming romance; she was beginning to be side-lined by her peers. It had begun in class in subtle ways; she would be given more minor roles than usual when Sikowitz called on one of the class to lead the group or given fewer lines to sing when they were asked to form musical groups in singing class. Yesterday, for the first time, she hadn't been called on at all (her classmate, Amy, had even called on Trina Vega in her stead). _Why on earth_, the blonde mused, _would you want that deluded, talentless, waste-of-oxygen, diva in your group?_ Things got even worse for the blonde sophomore, though she got an explanation for their behaviour, this morning when she joined her "friends" by their lockers while they were in mid-conversation.

"So it starts at 8 on Friday," she heard Jennifer tell Amy as she rounded the corner.

"What's that, Jen?" Lindsey asked the black-haired girl curiously.

"Oh nothing," she said dismissively.

Confused, and a little hurt, Lindsey looked to Amy for an explanation.

"Just a party that we're all going to," she said with a shrug.

"Oh cool, where?"

The girls looked slightly awkwardly at one another; given that they had been friends with the blonde for over a year there was still a slightly uncomfortable feeling for them about the way they had kicked her unceremoniously to the kerb. "Yeah, you weren't invited," the brunette, Amy, managed to admit to her without a trace of shame or regret in her voice.

"Why not?" Lindsey was hurt by the snub.

The girls traded a second uncomfortable look before Jennifer spoke up maliciously, "We all assumed you'd be baby-sitting little Freddie." Amy laughed at her friend's jibe and Jennifer joined her in frivolity a moment later.

"What? _Baby-sitting_? He's fifteen in a few days!" The blonde was irate at the slur on her boyfriend.

"Yes, _a year_ younger than the rest of us. Laters." The two girls departed without another word, leaving Lindsey staring after them; she felt humiliated and a sad, hurt expression was darkening her pretty face. It was the first thing Freddie noticed as he saw her, before she met his gaze and turned the frown upside down.

"What's the matter?" he asked, not fooled for a second by the lovely smile that she always saved just for him.

"Oh, it's nothing," she waved away. He gave her a disbelieving look and held her gaze, challenging her to stare him down. She sighed. "It's just… some of the girls in my class have been teasing me a bit about…"

"Me?"

"About dating a guy in the year below us," she clarified. She brightened and took his hand determinedly. "They're just jealous that they can't get a guy as cute as you," and she kissed him, wrapping her arms around him and deepening the kiss as she did. Freddie was happy enough to return it but the cogs in his mind were busily at work, building a sense of concern that history was starting to repeat itself and that again someone would be trying to screw up his relationship. After their kiss Lindsey followed it up with a couple of soft, gentle ones in the hope of reassuring him; if she could read his mind she'd have known she was only partially successful.

The bell curtailed their activity but they were able to walk hand-in-hand to their first class of the day as they were still in video class together; during their journey the problems between the sophomore girl and her peers were not discussed. Instead they chatted about the project they had been set for this class (they were working together on it, another way they had found to increase the amount of time they spent together). Fortunately so far they had been able to get through it without arguing too much about it; ever organised, Freddie had suggested ways of dividing the work between them and Lindsey was happy to go along with it. The boy had surprised her by not allocating all the technical work to himself, "I already know how to do all this stuff, I wouldn't learn anything" he explained. She was grateful of the opportunity _to learn_ about it, and had asked him for help in one or two places – help he had been more than happy to give her. In turn she had been helping him with some of the other aspects of the project (specifically in front of the camera, i.e. acting) of which she had more experience than he. "I'll teach you the tech stuff," he had whispered with a knowing smile, "you can teach me to act – and kiss," he finished conspiratorially, his brown eyes filling with a smoky look as they fixed on her green ones.

The class was going really well for the young couple and, with the combination of their respective talents and experiences, they felt confident that with enough hard work they would get an A for the project and the class. Freddie was drawing particular praise from the teacher for his insightful comments about the camerawork in the clips they were shown during lessons; some of the older students eyed the young up-start a little jealously but, for most of them, they merely wished that _they _could work with him, rather than resenting him for his talent.

With regret the two parted at the end of class; Freddie had Sikowitz's class, Lindsey was mildly dreading her singing class as she expected to be shunned again by her so-called friends. She managed to keep the worry from her face as she and her boy parted ways; she watched him walking off, feeling slightly envious of his care-free demeanour.

Freddie entered the class just as the eccentric teacher was preparing to make a start. He took his seat next to Cat and smiled at her and Eli, who was sitting on the red velvet-haired girl's other side.

"Hmm," Jade said as she felt her phone vibrate in the pocket of her jeans a few minutes later. She pulled the device out as around her the others began to do likewise as they too received the same message. At the front of the room Sikowitz looked frustrated and upset that he had lost the attention of the class so quickly and easily. "E-mail from Principal Eikner," she announced, "Due to the recent unpleasantness involving a group of students towards one of the _reporters_," she emphasised the word and looked directly at Robbie; the curly-haired boy winced at the memory from the previous week, "the school newspaper is closing down with immediate effect."

"All very sad," the bald acting teacher called over the disgruntled groans of his class, "but can we please get back to _acting_." Seeing that he was not regaining the class's focus he turned to the open window and, with a loud yell, leapt through it, landing in the flower bed outside.

"Uh, it's not just me, right, everyone else just saw that?" Freddie asked as he stared after the unusual teacher.

"Oh yeah, he jumped through the window," Cat supplied for the benefit of anybody who had missed it; nobody had.

Their teacher climbed back through the window, dusting himself down as he righted himself inside the classroom.

"Can we _please_ get back to _acting_?" he asked again. The 9th graders obediently stowed their phones back in their pockets and returned their attention to him.

"How are things going between you and Cat?" Freddie asked Eli as the pair headed to their next class together.

"Things are good thanks," he replied with a smile but, Freddie noticed, limited enthusiasm. "I like her and she's great fun but…" he trailed off awkwardly; Freddie looked expectantly at him, encouraging him to continue. "She's uh… high maintenance – and energetic." Freddie chuckled his understanding of the description of the little red head. Any further discussion of the girl was curtailed, however, because as they crossed the hallway they spotted an unhappy-looking Lindsey walking alone towards her own next lesson; Freddie called to her.

"Hey Linds."

"Oh hey," she said, immediately brightening again as she saw him. They walked up to one another and kissed; what was intended to be a brief kiss of greeting quickly deepened into something more as Freddie sought to prove that he was a quick learner and his girlfriend sought an improvement to her mood. All the while Eli hovered, slightly awkwardly, in the background; the sandy-blond was at once torn between wanting to watch the couple to pick up a few tips and make some mental notes and a natural discomfort at seeing a couple lost in a moment of intimacy; something that he really didn't want to intrude upon.

"How come you're all alone?" he asked when they separated to come up for air.

"My _friends_," The blonde's voice dripped with sarcasm and bitterness at the description. "They all bailed the moment class ended," she shrugged.

"I'm sorry," he said with a sorrowful look in his eyes, immediately feeling responsible for her troubles.

"It's not your fault," she insisted in an attempt to reassure him, cupping his cheek with her hand and kissing him again, a quicker one this time as she was mindful of the need to get to class. "I'll see you at lunch?"

"Sure," he agreed and they parted.

"What was that all about?" Eli pried.

"Her friends don't like that she's dating me," he explained before his voice lowered to a nervy whisper, "I've no idea how it's going to turn out between us here. It feels just like the way things ended with me and Cat – once again _other people_ are going to end up screwing everything up for me." His tone was fearful; Eli gave him a sympathetic smile as they continued on their way to class.

Thanks in no small part to the attitude of the other sophomore girls, lunch was a low-key affair for Freddie and his girlfriend; the other members of the freshman group wanted to play ping pong so the two of them sat alone at a table in the Asphalt Café. The blonde was lost in her thoughts, feeling upset both from the way her own friendships had gone and from the fact that she was taking Freddie away from _his_.

"Thanks for doing this," she said quietly, "I know you love hanging with the others."

"I want to spend time with _you_," he insisted and put his hand gently on top of hers, "Yes I like ping pong and yes I enjoy hanging with the rest of them but I don't get to spend that much time with you during the day and I want to take every minute of it that I can."

She smiled at his words and they kissed again; the tenth grade girls eyeing them from across the café were ignored or forgotten as she found solace in her boy's arms – and his lips.

* * *

Freddie awoke on the morning of his 15th birthday feeling a little strange; he couldn't quite figure out why as he came to. _Oh yeah_ he thought as he realised that it was, in fact, his birthday. The brown-haired teen smiled as he looked over to his desk and the two envelopes he had left on it. He hopped out of bed and slit the first one open, pulling out a handmade card (not terribly artistic he'd admit but he genuinely appreciated the effort that had gone into it) and an empty Fat Cake wrapper. He smiled and shook his head at his "present", opening the card and reading the handwritten greeting inside.

_Dear Fredward,_

_Happy birthday! I was going to send you a Fat Cake but then I got hungry; hey it's the thought that counts._

_I hope you enjoy your day._

_Sam._

He smiled again as he thought of the blonde juvie inmate; he knew it would still be a couple of months before her release and it meant a great deal to him that she had sent him something, even an empty sweet wrapper and a card, given how her own situation was right now. _If we go to Seattle during semester break I'll definitely have to go see her again_, he thought, _make sure she sees a friendly face_. He stood the card up on his desk and opened the second envelope; two cards were inside it, one from Spencer, simply signed by the sculptor along with a quick "Happy birthday", the second was from Carly.

_Dear Freddie,_

_I'm saddened that I can't be with you in person on your birthday or for your party this weekend. I hope that you have a great day today, a great time of it at your party and if you have time to video-chat with me this evening I would love to do so. I look forward to seeing you,_

_Love_

_Carly x_

Her message brought a new little smile to his face and he placed the Shays' two cards on his desk where they joined Sam's. He glanced at his clock and realised that it he needed to head downstairs for breakfast but, before he left his bedroom, he remembered that there was a parcel sat next to the cards. He opened it to reveal a box and a folded piece of paper, which he drew out and opened.

_Freddie,_ the note read, _Spencer thought that you would like this. Happy birthday, Love Carly and Spencer._

"Wow," he said, eyes widening as he drew the box from the parcel; it was the new Huebscher Fyords expansion pack to World of Warlords. "Thanks guys," he said with enthusiasm before he pulled out his pearphone and tapped off a text message to say the same, along with a promise to speak with them tonight via video chat.

With nothing else to open yet he dressed quickly (while he was doing so he received a reply text from Carly; again the brunette wished him happy birthday and said that she looked forward to their video chat in the evening) and headed downstairs to be greeted by the aroma of… surely not bacon?

"Happy birthday Freddie!" Marissa cried as she saw him; the Benson matriarch set down the grill pan and swooped down to pull her son into a hug and a kiss. "I got some low-fat bacon in as a special treat," she told him; he smiled slightly at the thought. "Now, can I _please _have final numbers for your party on Saturday night?" His smile grew at her all-too-familiar exasperation.

"Ok," he sighed slightly as he mentally went through the list before muttering the names under his breath and counting them off on his fingers, "Lindsey," Marissa's eyebrows raised as she thought she heard what was an unfamiliar name; more worrying to the Benson matriarch was the tone in which her son appeared to utter it, "Eli and Cat," this definitely piqued the matriarch's interest, "Beck and Jade, Robbie, André." He went over the list again to make sure he hadn't omitted anyone and spoke aloud, "Seven."

"Ok, let them all know the time."

The Bensons enjoyed their celebratory breakfast and talked about the final preparations for the party that weekend before Marissa drove him to school on her way to work.

"Hey birthday boy," his girlfriend greeted him as he entered the Asphalt Café. She pulled him into a birthday kiss, longer and deeper than the ones they usually shared.

"Guys, there are children present; keep it TV-G," Jade commented as she and Cat walked up to them; the gothic girl's tone was its usual deadpan self but she wore an amused smirk as she eyed them. Cat's smile was fixed as she worked hard to hide and suppress any sadness she felt from seeing Freddie and the blonde being so intimate together. The girl with pink and green hair extensions wasn't blind to her friend's internal conflict so she pressed on quickly, "Happy birthday Freddie." She handed him a card and smiled at him.

"Thank you Jade."

"I'll bring your gift to the party on Saturday," she concluded with a smile. He returned it gratefully.

"Oh here," Cat dug inside her bag and fished out a card. "Happy birthday," she gave him her best smile and his stomach gave an involuntary lurch as he remembered just how pretty her smile was (and how pretty she was, he would admit). Lindsey subconsciously tightened her grip on his hand as she watched the red-head carefully; her eyes followed Cat's to Freddie's face and she saw the boy smiling back at her as he thanked her. She caught Jade looking at her and the two eyed one another warily.

Beck's arrival, however, prevented a stand-off between the two strong-willed teenagers.

"Hey," he greeted his girlfriend. They kissed, breaking her eye-contact with the blonde sophomore. "Happy birthday," he turned to Freddie and shook his free hand before handing him a card; like the girls he told the birthday boy would bring a gift to the party at the weekend.

The bell sounded and the five walked together inside school; Cat felt a little left-out as she looked at the two couples flanking her. This would change as the group ran into Eli by the lockers. Cat squealed and pulled the surprised blond into a hug; he patted her back awkwardly with one hand (the other was holding the card he had pulled from his jacket the moment he saw Freddie) as the other four stifled their laughter at his predicament.

When he disentangled himself from the ebullient girl he straightened his clothes a little and gave Freddie his card and birthday wishes. The fifteen-year-old received the same from André and Robbie during his morning classes (music with André, he and Robbie only shared acting class at the moment).

Freddie, André and Beck had arranged to go fencing the following evening; it would be his first return to the studio since being set upon by the gang of older kids. He decided to round to round off this part of his birthday, however, by going for a smoothie with his girlfriend; Marissa was expecting him home as she had arranged to do only a part-shift in order to be home to cook him a birthday dinner.

"Have you had a good day?" she asked him as they sipped their drinks.

"I've had a _great_ day," he confirmed eagerly, "How about you? How is it going with your classmates?"

He made a point of not describing them as friends; it wasn't lost on her that he did that. She looked at her smoothie and sighed.

"Don't worry about them," she tried to brush off his concerns.

"I'm _going_ to worry," he emphasised, taking her hand gently but firmly.

"I know; it's one of the great things about you," she conceded with a smile. "Things are no different; I have to hope that they come round in time."

"Is there anything the teachers can do about them snubbing you in class?" he asked. "It's not fair if you're not getting the opportunities anymore."

"They don't tend to dictate from on high who can or can't be in a class performance; you know that."

"Maybe you need to lead the groups and then it's your call who you perform with," he suggested, causing her to nod in response.

"You're right; I'll put myself forward. I'll show them," she finished steelily.

He smiled and grabbed her smoothie, taking a sip from it and treating her to his boyish smile.

"You're lucky it's your birthday mister," she growled playfully. He laughed in response, bringing a matching laugh from the blonde.

They finished their drinks and left the mall, sharing a goodbye kiss before leaving for their respective homes.

"Freddie!" Marissa greeted him as he arrived at home. She pulled him into another birthday hug. "How was your day?"

"It was good, thanks. I got a lot of cards; the presents will follow at the party," he laughed a little at the thought.

"You _are_ popular," his mother commented as he drew the pile of cards from his bag.

"I'll put these up in my room with the others," he told her.

"Alright," she conceded, a little disappointed that they wouldn't be on display in the living room. "Don't be too long, dinner's almost ready."

"I won't." He dashed upstairs, dumping his bag on his bedroom floor and standing the cards up next to the three he had opened before school. He smiled at the little collection before the sound of his mother's voice convinced him that he needed to head back downstairs.

"Will you be putting the cards on display during the party?" she asked curiously. "I'm sure your friends would love to see the cards in the living room when they're all here."

"You're right; I probably will for the party. It's just nice to see them before I go to bed."

Marissa accepted the explanation, albeit reluctantly, and the pair returned to their dinner.

Having eaten, Freddie returned to his room; he informed his mother that he would be video-chatting with Carly. She nodded, cautioning him to keep the noise down a little as she had to start early the following morning to make up for her truncated shift today. The chat with the brunette, and Spencer who was summoned by Carly as they started, was fairly brief but mostly pleasant. He thanked them again for their cards and gift and they filled one another in on how their days had been. Spencer had to head off (he was going night-fishing with Socko's cousin Angler) which just left the two brown-haired teens talking to one another.

"Your present was better than the one I got from Sam anyway," he laughed and held up the empty Fat Cake wrapper for her to see.

The brunette was stunned by this comment; she didn't expect the two to have kept in touch at all after Freddie left. "You got a card from her?" she managed to ask, unable to disguise her surprise.

"Yeah, we've been keeping in touch ever since I saw her on Christmas Day. Hopefully she'll be out soon; I think it's really getting her down now."

"Wait – you saw _her _but not _me_ over Christmas?" Carly was shocked and more than a little hurt with this latest revelation.

"I didn't think she was getting many visitors – and I was right," he said simply, "and you _know_ why I didn't want to see you."

The private schoolgirl was smart enough to know when she was on a loser; she changed the subject to something a little more neutral.

"So how does it feel to be a year older?" she asked him coyly. He shrugged.

"It doesn't feel that much different," he commented. "At least for now I'm the same age as Lindsey, for what that's worth. Her birthday isn't until the end of April."

Carly's brow furrowed at the slightly curious observation but she decided to refrain from commenting – for today anyway.

* * *

The Hollywood Arts trio's trip to the Swordplay fencing studio the next day went well; they sparred together for about an hour and a half, Beck and André were working hard on their footwork and technique while Freddie practiced with some more experienced kids. The fifteen-year-old also sought out one of the instructors with a view to joining the advanced class. He was a little concerned that one of these classes also contained his nemeses from earlier in the year but he was confident that they wouldn't be able to try anything under an instructor's watchful eye. The adult supervisors had seen him in action on previous occasions and agreed that he was at a suitable level to join one of their classes. Fortunately the only class with any vacancies was on a different night so the chances of him encountering the gang again were limited. He noted with a wry smile that none of them had approached him so far tonight; his two friends cast wary glances in their direction on a regular basis; so frequently, in fact, that the supervisors were becoming aware of a potential issue between them, though for now they said nothing and merely kept an eye on proceedings.

The three friends left without incident or challenge after their session; Freddie told the others about wanting to sign up for the advanced class and about how it would mean changing their regular night. The two boys were happy enough to agree to it; Beck promised to work his time with Jade around whatever night they chose.

"Good luck when you tell _her _that," André commented semi-seriously. Beck smiled doubtfully at the musician.

* * *

Finally Saturday evening came around and the Benson house was ready for Freddie's party. The man of the hour arranged his cards neatly on the mantelpiece shortly before it was due to start while Marissa busied herself in the kitchen, preparing all manner of healthy "party food". Freddie had warned his guests about what they could expect but was still rather unsure as to how they would react when confronted by the fare.

"There _will_ be something they're going to _want_ to eat, mom, won't there?" he asked for the tenth time that day.

"_Yes_, Fredward," Marissa was a little annoyed, "just because it will be healthier than buying the junk food from a store doesn't mean it will all be inedible; you of all people should know that by now."

Freddie said nothing; his mother sighed.

"I've made some pizzas; low fat cheese, plenty of fruit and vegetables on them. Some chicken legs cooked in vegetable oil, birthday cake with xylitol instead of sugar…"

The fifteen-year-old tuned out the rest of the list and instead wished he had had the foresight to send a mass text advising his friends to eat before they came over.

The doorbell chimed just after 7, indicating that the first tranche of guests had arrived. Freddie opened it to reveal a smirking Jade, who wore bright green hair extensions this evening along with a neat black top and black pants, a smiling Beck, dressed in a dress shirt and a smarter pair of jeans than the others were used to seeing him in, and a pensive Cat with her hair tied back in a ponytail and sporting her baby pink top and tight, dark blue jeans.

"Hey guys, come on in," he greeted them warmly and stepped away from the door allowing them to file in. Each handed the boy a gift (Jade's was a pear store voucher, Beck's a book on fencing moves and techniques while Cat had baked him half-a-dozen red velvet cupcakes).

"Don't eat them all at once," she teased with a giggle. Her smile fell as she saw his mother emerge from the kitchen; Freddie looked from one to the other in apprehension. Marissa, however, was perfectly civil and pleasant towards the girl, now that she was no longer dating her son. The boy did notice, however, that she gave several searching looks to Beck.

"She probably disapproves of your long hair," he explained with a shrug when Beck questioned him on the looks later on in the evening.

The Los Angeles immigrant was also grateful that Jade held her tongue; he could tell from the gothic girl's body language that she wanted to have words with his mother about how she had treated her best friend a few months ago.

"Thank you," he would whisper to her at one point during proceedings, "for not making a scene."

She gave him a coy, knowing smile and sipped her fruit punch.

Eli arrived a couple of minutes after the trio; like Freddie he was wearing a smart dress shirt and black pants and brought with him one of the newly released Galaxy Wars figurines (he had bought it when he and Cat were at the mall the previous week). Marissa's eyes widened in surprise as the sandy-blond took a seat on the couch next to Cat and she pulled his fingers playfully while she giggled at him. Her musings were interrupted by the doorbell chiming again.

"Hey birthday boy," Lindsey greeted him, handing him the latest CD from the band she had been working hard to get him into over the last few weeks as he answered the door. She wore a simple white top and a black skirt that stretched to the floor; Freddie smiled as he appraised the visage.

"I've heard that before somewhere," he said thoughtfully before laughing and pulling the girl into a hug. She stepped back after their embrace and they leaned in for a quick kiss. They would have kissed for longer but for the cool breeze blowing across the city so instead he steered her inside, taking her left hand in his right and asking nervously, "You ready?"

She nodded and he guided her across to Marissa, who was back in the kitchen. He called "mom?" and the Benson matriarch's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the two holding hands.

"Mom, this is my girlfriend Lindsey," Freddie volunteered, raising their conjoined hands and gesturing towards his mother.

"Hello, Mrs Benson, it's nice to meet you." Lindsey offered her free hand confidently to her boyfriend's mother. Slightly taken aback, Marissa accepted it as she met the younger girl's challenging stare.

The doorbell interrupted the burgeoning stare-off between the two currently most important females in Freddie's life.

"I'll be back," whispered Freddie and gave his girl a peck on the cheek as he passed. Lindsey was amused as this caused his mother's eyebrows to raise slightly and she continued to smile at her, something that was increasingly unnerving to Marissa. Mrs Benson finally blinked first and turned to mingle with the other guests so Lindsey headed over to join her boyfriend by the door.

"Hey André, thanks for coming," Freddie greeted the musician warmly. "Robbie," he nodded to the ventriloquist before rolling his eyes slightly and welcoming Rex as well before the puppet could take offence.

"No problem man, I wouldn't miss it," his fellow fencer answered sincerely. "Happy birthday," he said, handing him a card.

"Gym membership?" Freddie looked at him in surprise as he opened the card and saw the voucher within.

"Yeah, it's a new place that's just opened not far from school," the songsmith explained, "I've signed up and I thought it would be another fun thing that we could do outside of school."

"Sounds great," Freddie agreed with a smile. He then accepted Robbie's offering, which was a gift card for the cinema at the mall.

"This means I lose you for _another_ evening every week?" Lindsey teased with a smile as she saw the gym card. "You boys have your fun," she continued before giving him a little kiss.

"Would it bother you?" he asked her softly, having led her away from the others for a little privacy.

"No, don't worry," she said brightly, "you need your time with your friends and, since it's not far from school, we can meet up before – or after – any time."

"You're so cool," he smiled.

"Don't you forget it," she laughed and they kissed again. "Let's get back to your party," she said, taking his hand and steering him back into the living room, where Marissa was bringing food to the table.

Beck noticed with concern the look Jade pulled when she saw the "party food" Marissa had in mind.

"What is this slop?" she muttered, just loud enough for the Canadian-born actor to hear.

"Be nice," he cautioned her before turning to his hostess. "This looks great, Mrs Benson." She smiled at him; any issues she may have had with his hair were long forgotten. _The first secret of acting: learn how to lie convincingly_ he thought.

With dinner eaten, Happy Birthday sung and cake cut and consumed the party-goers returned to the chairs and couches around the living room. Lindsey sought out her boyfriend and pulled him into what she described as "another birthday hug", one that he was only too eager to accept.

The blonde sophomore noticed Marissa still wore a guarded look whenever she looked towards the couple; she made sure that she was nearby and that her eyes were on them before kissing her boyfriend.

"Are you going to hit _me_ with a towel?" she challenged quietly, staring Marissa down as she surveyed the scene. Mrs Benson turned away uncomfortably, leading Lindsey to turn back to Freddie with a broad grin. He shrugged, deciding to stay out of this power struggle for now and instead kissed her again.

The birthday boy did the rounds of the room, talking to all his friends and smiling at the little bits of interplay between Cat and Eli; he could tell that his sandy-blond friend was still very new to the dating game and a little uncomfortable with it but they seemed happy enough together. Beck and Jade were comfortable in one another's company, though they spent plenty of time chatting with the other ninth graders. Robbie shot jealous looks towards the red-haired girl and her boyfriend while André was happy enough to sit and listen to the music (played at a comfortably low volume, naturally) when others were talking among themselves. Lindsey took this time to sit and watch the younger kids interacting with one another, taking a particular interest in the girl who could still be considered something of a rival for Freddie's affections. She smiled at the clumsy actions Eli was partaking in, remembering her own early relationships and the inexperienced boys who had floundered a little around her. She then turned to the brown-eyed boy talking to Beck and smiled again as she thought of how he was progressing and evolving in that department as their relationship continued to flourish. She thought of perhaps arranging another little bit of "tuition" sometime soon – and hoped that the next one would actually be a private one. A little flush crept into her cheeks as she thought back on the moment her mother had interrupted them.

The brown-haired fifteen-year-old was heading back towards his blonde, having spoken to all his friends, when his mother intercepted him. Lindsey watched the two Bensons retreat from the room but held her curiosity in check and remained in her seat, smiling at Cat as she caught the little red-head watching her; the fourteen-year-old turned her gaze back to her drink and took a sip before leaning subconsciously into Eli's arm. The sandy-blond slipped it round her again.

"Fredward," his mother said, leading him to a quiet corner of the house, "I'm a little surprised to see Cat here and with…"

"Eli," Freddie supplied.

"Right," she said.

"Well after what happened here a few months ago, things got awkward between us for a while, but we're good now; we're friends. I'm glad she's happy with Eli – he's a good guy."

"And you and Lindsey?" she probed.

"What about us?" he asked innocently.

"How long have you two been dating?" she almost winced as she forced the question out.

"Since school came back so just over a month."

"That long and you never said anything? I must say I'm disappointed that you felt you couldn't tell me."

"Well you tried to attack my last girlfriend with a towel," he pointed out, "so you're really surprised that I'm a little guarded around you where girls are concerned?"

"I'm your mother, I'm concerned about you!"

"I know you are. Mom, I love you and I'm glad that you care – really. It's just… sometimes you're over-protective and it makes things harder for me."

Marissa stood there and eyed her son as she pondered his words. She quickly disregarded them as her overriding feeling of being in the right dominated any other feelings she may have had.

"I wish you had told me," she said with disappointment in her voice.

Freddie felt an unwillingness to back down either so he folded his arms and met his mother's stare. "I really don't want an argument with you at my _birthday party_ with all of my friends and my _girlfriend_," he put extra emphasis on the word and smiled for good measure, "in the next room. We can talk about this later."

He gave her a second to challenge him; when she did not he turned and returned to the main room, where he squeezed himself into the chair Lindsey was occupying and put his arm around her, pulling her even closer to him. She draped her legs over his and shuffled into his lap as her left arm slipped around his front. From the corner of her eye she could see Marissa watching them uncomfortably; she grinned wickedly at the sight and kissed her boy again.

Shortly after 10 the party began to die down. Marissa had work the following morning so she began to encourage the teenagers to depart. Cellphones were drawn from pockets, calls to parents were made and soon the crowd were departing with one last round of birthday wishes for the younger Benson. The extra hug that he received from Cat as she departed was not missed by either Eli or Lindsey.

Perhaps inevitably the blonde was the last to leave. She waved to her mother as the car pulled up outside the Benson home and she sought, and received, one last kiss from her boyfriend. She waved as she got into the car, he waved back and gave an embarrassed smile to the girl's mother; she simply waved back as they drove away. Freddie went back inside the house and began clearing away some of the garbage produced during the evening while his mother busied herself cleaning up the kitchen. The boy knew that he was only delaying the inevitable so, having filled one bag with trash, he took it into the kitchen. Marissa turned to face him as he entered.

"Thanks for the party, mom," he said amiably, walking across the kitchen with the intent of taking the trash bag out the back.

"Hold on Freddie," she called as he approached the back door. He sighed, turned and leant against it with his eyes on her.

"So did you like my friends?" He tried again, causing her to frown at him.

"I want to talk about you and Lindsey," she began.

"What about us?"

"How old is she?"

"She's fifteen, why?"

"Oh so you two are in most classes together then? She looks… older than the other girls."

"She is a tenth grader," he admitted reluctantly.

"Do you think that's wise? To be dating someone a year above you?"

"We don't think it makes any difference," he shrugged.

"I also want to talk about the fact that you didn't tell me about her for _a month_," she cried. "I had to find out by watching you walk her over to me."

"Would you have preferred to find out by catching us making out?" he joked, before turning serious. "What difference would it have made?"

"I would have been prepared for it for one thing. And I could have met her at a better time than in the middle of your birthday party!"

Freddie sighed; he knew that this time the argument about how his mother was overbearing and about the way she'd treated Cat was unavoidable. He was just glad that Lindsey had shown herself to be so willing to stand up to her and was unafraid to antagonise her. While it could lead to conflict in the future when she was at the Benson home, the blonde's actions made it clear that she was not going to be intimidated by Marissa; Freddie knew that that would trouble his mother more than anything else about the girl.

* * *

"Hey Freddie," Jade's voice drew his nose from the book he was reading, the one Beck had given him. The gothic girl had swapped her green hair extensions for dark blue this morning.

"Good to see you making a start on it," the long-haired actor laughed, nodding at the book.

The couple joined him at his table in the Asphalt Café; they were both busy drinking cups of Jet Brew coffee so the three sat in silence for a few minutes while waiting for their friends to arrive. They were still a trio when Jade finished her drink and commented to her friend,

"That was quite the set of moves your little girlyfriend was putting on you on Saturday night. What did your mom make of them?"

He smiled innocently at her before conceding defeat to her increasingly challenging stare.

"I don't think she likes my choice of girlfriend very much."

"Yeah, big surprise there," the brunette's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"She's definitely not used to being intimidated like that," he commented.

"She looked like she was ready to freak out once or twice," Beck chimed in, "especially when you guys were on the verge of a full-blown make-out session."

"I wouldn't say we were _that_ close to making out," he dismissed airily. The couple looked at him with identical _are you serious?_ expressions. He grinned guiltily at them but did not comment further, aided in his quest for silence by the bouncy arrival of Cat.

"Hi," she called to them. They greeted her in return and she sat with them. "Have you guys seen Eli this morning?" The others shook their heads in the negative.

"He might be inside somewhere; you'll see him in first period," Freddie comforted her as her face dropped at the boy's absence.

"How come _you're_ alone anyway? Where _is_ Lindsey?" Jade asked him.

"Oh, Linds is inside. She said she had stuff to do before school today. I'll see her at break or lunch."

"So no ping pong for you again?" Cat asked sadly.

"I'm afraid not."

"Oh phooey."

Freddie looked curiously at the girl; he was wondering why it was such a big deal to her that he hang with them at lunch. _She_ was the one who had broken things off; she had never hinted that she wanted them to try again and she was also dating another one of their group – so, the boy wondered, what was the big deal? The sound of the bell ended his musings. The four picked up their bags and headed for Sikowitz's class and the beginning of another school week.

* * *

**AN: I hope you all enjoyed that. If you'll believe it I actually wrote the little scene in Sikowitz's class **_**before**_** Cell Blocked aired. I'm just psychic like that… Anyway please let me know what you thought about the chapter, whether you liked or disliked it, by filling in the little box underneath here. Thank you for reading and see you all next week for Chapter 17. PD.**


	18. Chapter 17

**AN: Hello everyone and welcome back to this story; I hope you enjoy this latest part of it. As ever I want to thank each and every one of you for continuing to read it and give a special shout out to those who reviewed Chapter 16.**

**Subject87 – Welcome to this story's readership. The pairing isn't going to be to everybody's taste but I'm glad you like it anyway. Special thanks for previewing this chapter for me too.**

**EnchantingNightmares – Freddie/Jade. They make a very intriguing pairing. Whether they're right for this story or not, only time will tell. Freddie did hint at a moment, however flippantly, just before Christmas…**

**Challenge King – Thank you. The cards from the girls made sense given how their relationships are with Freddie at this point. Sam to LA? Nothing is impossible.**

**TinyElephant – Cell Blocked is a while away for the gang – a LONG way off, but again it's not impossible eventually that it will happen in some way, shape or form.**

**Agent-M – I'm glad you're finding Freddie to be a more interesting character; it means I must be doing something right! As for Lindsey and Marissa – there's a bit of a power struggle there and the confident young blonde does not intend to be beaten out of Freddie's life the way Cat was. What it could mean for Freddie going forward is certainly open to speculation.**

**Teamshutitdown – Um, thanks I guess. I will see what I can do about fights and drams. There should be plenty of drama in a few chapters time.**

**Ok, please enjoy…**

* * *

Chapter 17

André, Cat, Eli, Beck and Jade arrived at school together and made their way, as usual, to the Asphalt Café; they spied a familiar sight at one of the tables and headed in the direction of it, albeit Cat was far more reluctant than the others (André in particular eyed the sight with an amused smile). The first thing Freddie noticed, when he eventually removed his lips from his girlfriend's and paid attention to the group that had joined them at one of the larger tables in the café, was that neither Cat nor Eli seemed to be very happy. He had ignored the looks Jade had thrown at them for their public near-make-out session first thing on a morning and chose to overlook his songsmith friend's light-hearted whooping as he approached the table and took a seat but, having surfaced for air, he saw that the sandy-blond-haired boy in particular seemed sullen and withdrawn, which surprised him as he knew the couple had gone out for dinner with his mother and father to celebrate his fifteenth birthday the evening before. He also knew that the McAlister parents had already met, and liked, Cat (at least that's what Eli had told him) so he was concerned, and intrigued, about what could have gone wrong for his friends.

"Well it all started really well, we were having a great time just talking, enjoying our drinks and celebrating my birthday," Eli began.

"It was a really nice restaurant," Cat interjected with a sad look on her face. The juxtaposition only served to increase Freddie's bewilderment.

"We ordered our starters…" the fifteen-year-old continued in response to the brown haired tech producer's quizzical look before the red-haired girl interrupted him.

"I was having French toast and it was really good, but then Eli told me this _really_ funny joke…" she tailed off and giggled in her exuberant way; her boyfriend grimaced at the shared memory. "And then I started laughing but then I started choking, so the lady who owned the restaurant made me leave," she finished sadly. Freddie gave his blond friend an incredulous look but he nodded.

"We all went with her; mom and dad found another restaurant nearby for us to have dinner at but they weren't too happy about the whole thing," he admitted quietly.

André, who sat on Freddie's other side, whispered in his ear with a laugh, "Looks like you dodged a bullet there man!" The former iCarly tech producer gave him a cautious look in response; his sympathy for Cat and Eli's predicament and, despite his happiness with how his relationship with Lindsey was developing, his wondering of what might have been every time he thought of the ebullient girl tempered his own amusement with her latest crazy anecdote.

"Were they ok about it in the end?" he asked Eli.

"Yeah, it's all good," he said, "it's all good," he repeated, more to reassure Cat – and maybe himself – than anybody else. He took the girl's hand gently and kissed it timidly. She smiled at his little gesture, as did Freddie; he felt genuinely happy for the couple. He covered his own girlfriend's hand, sat on the table, with his and began to rub the back of it gently with his thumb. The blonde gave her guy a smile, enjoying his more subtle display of affection (though, she reflected happily, not as much as she enjoyed his kisses) and thinking that she, too, was pleased to see that Cat was seemingly happily involved with a boy.

Of somewhat greater concern to the Seattle-born freshman was his girlfriend's mood during and after school; she was appearing increasingly stressed and hassled over the last couple of weeks.

"I'm ok," she tried to reassure him when he asked about it as they were en route to first period; "I'm just a little preoccupied with preparing for the Big Showcase."

Freddie nodded; as a freshman he wasn't going to be involved in the school's showpiece performance this year but he knew all about it and had heard plenty of stories from the kids around school, who _were_ involved, about just how big a deal it was.

"How's it going for that?" he asked her curiously.

"Oh it's going pretty well; I've been paired with one of the junior girls so not somebody who's been giving me any trouble."

"Well, if you need any help rehearsing any time…" he offered.

"Thanks," she smiled gratefully, "we still have a few weeks to get everything ready though, so we should be good. Hey, have you got any plans for first break?" Lindsey asked her boy as they approached the locker area where they would reluctantly have to part company; the blonde worked hard to keep the grin off her face as she pondered her scheme.

"No, why?" he asked curiously.

"I thought you might like to make use of the fact that the music room is empty on a break time," she said. Her tone was innocent but there was a wicked gleam in her green eyes.

"Ah, another expert tutoring session?" he grinned.

"Uh huh," her tone had turned sensuous and she cupped his cheek gently.

"I'll be there," he answered with a smile before he gave her one more quick peck goodbye and headed for class. She smiled at his retreating back and touched her lips absent-mindedly with the fingers of her right hand. After she watched her boy walk around a corner and out of sight the blonde, ignoring the muttered jibes of a couple of her watching classmates, headed for the music room and first period feeling, in spite of the bitter vitriol she was still being subjected to by some of the other tenth grade girls, that all was right with the world. Following her recent discussion with Freddie she had taken up his suggestion and began putting herself forward to lead groups in class, forcing her peers to work with her, however reluctantly. The pretty sophomore felt she was slowly but surely taking control of her school life again; it still hurt that she was being side-lined by some of the other female sophomores but she really liked Freddie and she definitely wanted to be with him; she was happy when it was just the two of them and was even happy to hang with his ninth grade friends (just not when they were playing ping pong). Her overwhelming feeling, though, was that she was _not_ going to let _anybody_, including his mother, wreck things between the two of them – and woe betide anyone who tried.

She made a show of having to take a long time packing up at the end of the lesson as the rest of the students left, followed by the teacher.

"Are you alright there Lindsey?" Anthony asked her as he stood in the doorway, one hand propping the classroom door open.

"Oh yeah, I'm good," she assured him with as innocent a smile as she could muster. He bought the act, nodded and left her alone in the room. She grinned at his departure, finished packing up and waited impatiently until a smiling brown-haired boy peered around the door a minute or so later.

"Hey teacher…"

* * *

Freddie arrived at his next class, set design (he was in the class with the rest of his friendship group), still wearing a slight flush from his 'extra-curricular activities' over break. He entered the room to be greeted by the sight of André in spirits as high as his own.

"Hey man, what's with the huge grin?" he asked in a curious tone and pointing to his friend's smile.

"Aileen," he answered simply and smugly, settling back in his chair with his fingers interlaced behind his head. Freddie looked to his other friends for elaboration.

"You'd know that if you still saw us at break," Cat commented. Her tone had been relaxed enough but nobody present missed the unexpected bitterness that underscored the red velvet-haired girl's words. The remainder of the group looked between one another in surprise.

"Whoa Cat," Jade was the first to speak up, "where did that come from?"

"I just liked hanging with him and now we never do," she complained to her friend with a shrug. The gothic girl was impressed that her child-like friend had managed to concoct a cover story and mask the feelings she clearly still had for the boy but that didn't prevent her from sharing an uncomfortable glance with the former iCarly tech producer and sparing him a rare look of sympathy.

"We hang out with you all most lunchtimes," he pointed out defensively, "and it's not like I miss _every_ break."

"It seems like it sometimes," she retorted morosely before turning back to her work, intent on making a start before class officially began.

The rest of the group turned to look at Freddie's reaction to this; Eli in particular was interested in his good friend's response. The former Seattle native shrugged awkwardly before he and the others followed the red-velvet-haired girl's lead in continuing their work.

"Do you two _ever_ stop making out?" Jade asked him quietly; the girl with blue-and-green-streaked hair had set up her project at the station next to his in order to have a quiet word with him.

"Well, yeah, when we're in different classes," he joked before turning serious. "Things are going pretty well between us, what's the problem with it?"

Jade was feeling a little uncomfortable as the question put her on the spot; the _problem_ was that he was the boy her best friend liked, that her best friend really didn't like watching the two of them kissing all the time they were together, but how could she give him that answer while he, who was her friend after all, was happy and Cat was dating someone else?

"There's no _problem_," she replied cautiously and shrugged in a dismissive manner before lightening her tone, "just… I dunno, it seems like you two never do anything but try to swallow each other."

"We talk a lot too," he defended, "but kissing her is definitely a nice part of it." He smiled at the thought of their little session at break time. In spite of herself Jade grinned at the happiness he was exuding; she really was genuinely pleased for him – she just wished that his happiness wasn't to the detriment of Cat's.

Today it was to be André's turn to miss out on spending lunchtime with his friends; Cat, Eli, Jade, Beck, Lindsey and Freddie sat around a table together enjoying the warm March day as they ate. Each took an occasional glance to where the musician sat at a different table with his new girl and her friends; he was talking excitedly to them. The kids knew them by sight but none had had any real dealings with the other friendship group.

Robbie joined them; the puppeteer sat down at the table feeling downcast. His eyes moved from André and Aileen, noticing that they were sat with the other group and at a different table to the rest of them, to Eli and Cat, then to Beck and Jade and finally to Freddie and Lindsey.

"Why don't girls like me?" he lamented aloud, looking to Freddie as if seeking an explanation from the tech producer as he did. The fifteen-year-old ex-Seattleite looked awkwardly at him for a moment, debating how he should respond, before turning to his girlfriend.

"Help me out here would you?" he implored her; she sighed pitiably at the curly-haired boy.

"Robbie," she began bluntly, "you walk around all day wearing leather pants and male make-up and with your hand stuck up a puppet's butt."

"Hey!" complained Rex; the blonde ignored it.

"Most girls just aren't into that," she explained before casually returning her attention to her meal, and her boyfriend's as she playfully stole a couple of his fries, seemingly oblivious to the surprised looks that were being traded by the other kids around the table. She finished quickly and, to her brown-eyed boy's surprise, stood up from the table. Freddie glanced at his watch and then gave her a questioning look.

"I need to set up for class this afternoon. I'm leading the group – again," she smiled at the thought and he gave her a supportive smile and nod, "so I need to make sure everything's ready. Give them one less thing to bitch about," she concluded with a hint of smugness.

"Ok then, I guess I'll see you later?"

"You definitely will," she smiled, gave him a quick kiss, gathered up her bag and headed inside. Robbie gave her back a cold look as she left; he was only partially successful in managing to hide it as Freddie looked in his direction. Fortunately for the curly-haired boy the ex-iCarly member was in no mood for an argument and he continued to savour his own lunch, though he furnished the puppeteer with more than one cold stare of his own, each of them eliciting a couple of nervous swallows from the ventriloquist. Despite the uncomfortable atmosphere between the two, they left the table together, along with the others, once they were all done eating.

"Benson!"

The brown-haired teen and his friends were just leaving the Asphalt Café and he was surprised by the call that came from a small group of juniors that they walked past. He stopped and turned towards them; Eli and Cat paused just behind him while Beck resisted Jade's tug on his hand, meaning that they too remained in the area to see what the older kids wanted with their friend. Robbie, who recognised the older kids, edged behind the tall Canadian-born in an attempt to hide his presence.

"Your reputation precedes you," one began. "We're the guys that used to run the school newspaper before…" he dismissively eyed the ventriloquist who was at once sulking and quaking in the background, both nervous of the older students and still upset about Lindsey's brusque critique of him earlier, "Eikner shut us down."

"What's that got to do with my… reputation?" he asked, mingling curiosity with caution.

"We want to turn it into an on-line paper," another explained. "Independent of the school but taking in all the news about what's going on, letting the kids have their own profiles and talk about what's going on in their lives, put up pictures, blogs, tweets – all sorts of stuff."

"And," the first picked up, "we need some guys who know what they're doing with computers and the technical stuff to help us pull it all off. You worked miracles on your little web show last year and we want you on board. You in?"

"Uh, sure," the Los Angeles immigrant agreed with a smile and a casual shrug, "I'll help you out. It sounds like it would be a fun little project."

"Awesome, man," the second was delighted to have the talented tech producer on board and gave him a grateful tap on the upper arm, just below his shoulder. "We're planning an initial meeting for tomorrow lunchtime in the computer room. We'll see you there."

"Oh what it is to be popular," Beck teased his friend lightly as the juniors walked away from the freshman group.

"Another lunch without us," Cat bemoaned softly; only Jade and an increasingly disgruntled Eli heard her.

Lindsey was far less upset than the red-haired freshman girl with the former iCarly's news; on the contrary, the blonde was thrilled that her boyfriend had been approached and was being given another chance to hone and showcase his skills – and get some more well-deserved recognition. It also meant she would feel less guilty about having to schedule some rehearsals for the Big Showcase on a lunchtime to ensure she and her partner were ready for the event. She shot off a text after he gave her the news, smiling as she attempted to schedule the extra practice to coincide with his meeting.

The weekend soon arrived for the Hollywood Arts students; Beck and Jade had plans to hang over the weekend, Freddie had plenty of work to do, both in putting ideas together for the new 'underground' website and for his own homework. With Lindsey busy with her routine for the Big Showcase it would be a weekend where the young couple would not see very much of one another, something the ex-Seattle native's mother was much less upset about than he was. Eli and Cat, meanwhile, had arranged another movie date at the mall for the Friday evening; they did not make a firm plan for _which_ film they were going to see, instead deciding that they would take the evening as it came, see what time they arrived, what they wanted to see that started at a convenient time and decide whether to eat before or after the showing.

They ultimately decided on eating before the movie, as there was nothing that either of them wanted to watch that started within an hour of their arrival at the mall. They made their way to the familiar surroundings of the Food Court; Cat stuck with her usual sweet and sour chicken from the Chinese stall while Eli opted for a change and tried the Mexican, ordering tacos. Cat liked the look of the tacos and helped herself to a bite. Her boyfriend would normally have found this amusing but tonight, with the way he was feeling, it only served to increase the annoyance he was beginning to feel towards the vivacious, voracious red haired girl.

Cat enjoyed the movie rather more than Eli did; he agreed to her choice of a chick-flick and soon regretted having done so. Unlike Freddie and Lindsey, neither was inclined to begin kissing during the film so he sat there feeling rather bored but smiling as he cast side-long glances at the girl and feeling satisfied about the fact that she was happy.

_Satisfied_. The word stuck in his mind; _shouldn't I be feeling more than just satisfaction?_ He looked over again towards the smiling girl and his own face fell at his inner turmoil over how he felt and how he thought she felt – about him _and_ about a certain other boy within their circle of friends…

"Thank you," she told him afterwards; the fact that he had not enjoyed the film wasn't lost on the girl. Cat gave him a little peck on the cheek in gratitude and he smiled weakly at her. "I really enjoyed that," she continued before adding brightly, "we have to do this again sometime soon!"

He steeled himself for what he was about to do, what he felt he _had_ to do. "Yes, but as friends," he said slowly and in a sad voice. "If you want to see a movie with a friend, I'm there but… I'm just not sure about anything more than that for us."

"Oh," she began in a disappointed tone of her own. "'kay 'kay," she recovered, forcing a smile onto her face and an air of nonchalance into her voice.

"Do you want me to walk you home?" he asked her; he still cared about her and wanted to make sure that she got home safely – even if this _was_ to be their final date.

"No, I'm gonna stay here a bit longer," she answered, "I'll call my mom to pick me up later."

Eli nodded and gave her one last sad look before turning and leaving the mall; he convinced himself that he was doing the right thing, that the girl still liked Freddie, that her heart just wasn't in dating him and that his own feelings towards her were becoming more and more confused as time wore on. He shook his head in an attempt to remove the pangs of regret he felt before he pulled open the outside door of the Green Meadow mall and walked out of the building; he made a conscious effort to avoid looking back at the girl he had just broken up with.

The red-head watched him with disappointment as he disappeared from sight before she took a glance around the place and spied a smoothie place close to where she stood. She walked inside it, fancying a nice, sweet drink to cheer her up.

A dark haired boy watched as she entered; he had seen (but not heard) the conversation between the girl and Eli and had deduced what had happened. He sidled over to her by the counter.

"Hey, can I buy you a smoothie?"

"Uh, sure, ok," she giggled as he smiled at her.

"I'm Jake," he told her.

"My name's Cat," she replied, giggling shyly again.

* * *

**AN: As far as I know Eli's surname has never been mentioned on the show (and I believe he was only actually in 'Pilot', though he may have had a role in Jade's **_**Well Wishes**_** play in 'Wok Star') but Ari tweeted Dan about the original **_**Victorious**_** auditions recently and mentioned an 'Eli McAlister' so I've taken that as the boy's name.**

**Liked it? Hated it? Sing out using the little box underneath and I'll be back with more next week. PD31.**


	19. Chapter 18

**AN: Hello again everyone and welcome to this week's update; I hope you are all well. As usual I would like to start by thanking everyone who read the last chapter and especially those of you who took the time and trouble to review – your efforts really are appreciated.**

**Challenge King – yes, Eli and Cat did rather fall apart. The problems were there and ultimately broke them apart. As for The Slap, he seems an obvious person for them to turn to when they wanted to build a website like that from scratch, given his experience from iCarly. Lindsey and Freddie's friends… well there'll certainly be more to come on that score in time, but at the moment I'm not sure I'd say that they (other than Cat of course – and therefore Jade to a degree) don't like her.**

**BushwellFanNYC – thanks; as above re: The Slap, and yes, Freddie is happily involved in a healthy relationship, not something he got the opportunity for in the show really.**

**Agent-M – Cat made her decision just a little too late and is, unfortunately, having to suffer at the moment. As LittleMissMusical said, the boys are rather queuing up for her, just not the one she really wants… at the moment anyway. She's still 14 and he's barely 15 so they have plenty of time to learn lessons about relationships and see what the future may bring for them.**

**Protege16 – I'm glad you like it, and wait no longer for the next chapter…**

* * *

Chapter 18

It was another sunny April morning in Los Angeles. Spring Break was almost upon the students from Hollywood Arts; the freshman class was eagerly awaiting the break as it would be a chance for them all to have a bit of a rest and take some time out from their increasingly heavy schedule of performances and prepare themselves for the final projects of the year.

Of course for the older students there was a far more pressing engagement to contend with.

"So, are you all set for the Big Showcase?" Freddie asked his girlfriend. Lindsey had gone from nervous, through stressed and hassled and on to outright _freaked_ over the past few days as the evening of her first Big Showcase crept remorselessly up on her.

"No," the blonde admitted with a nervy half-smile. "I'm still freaking out about it."

"You'll be fine," he assured her; his recent growth spurt meant that he could finally rest his hands on her shoulders and look down slightly to meet her eyes. He gave her a confident, comforting smile. "And I'll be there to help out, cheer you on, stuff like that."

"Oh right, sorry; I keep forgetting that you're involved," she admitted sheepishly before defending herself by adding, "most freshmen aren't."

"Most freshmen aren't 'Freddie from iCarly'," he said with a half-smile. Principal Eikner himself had approached the brown-eyed boy during the previous week about being involved with the lighting and stage management. The fifteen-year-old had been eager to agree as he wanted to be on hand to support his girlfriend and do everything he could to ensure that her performance was a success; the promise of partial credit for the tech theatre class that he would eventually have to take was a welcome added bonus.

"Ain't that the truth," she purred and leaned in for a kiss. His hands moved from her shoulders to behind her neck and he pulled her close to him; her arms found their way behind his back and the two stood there kissing, oblivious to the students walking past them up and down the corridor.

"Oh gotta go, catch you later," he yelped as they pulled apart when the warning bell sounded a few moments later. She wouldn't let him go before she leaned back in so that they could share one last, brief kiss but after that Freddie headed for class at speed; Lindsey stood and watched him go with a broad smile on her face.

"Hey, Lindsey!" a voice called to the blonde; she growled softly as it was probably the voice that, out of every one in the school, she least wanted to hear.

Life with her year group was still not improving for the tenth grade singer-actress; the pretty fifteen-year-old was still persona non grata for a lot of the girls in the sophomore class over the fact that she was in a relationship with a freshman so she expected nothing but bitter vitriol as Christine – _Christine_ of all people – sidled over to her and filled the void at her side that Freddie's departure created, not least because Christine had started dating Ryder so soon after the guy had dumped her.

"What do _you_ want?" she barked, not giving the brunette the courtesy of even sparing her a glance as she was expecting her to rub Ryder in her face.

"I wanted to know…" she began awkwardly before taking in a deep breath to steady her nerves at the other girl's intimidating tone and continuing in a conciliatory one of her own, "when Ryder dumped you."

Despite the attempted tone Lindsey turned to her with a harsh look, one that caused Christine to quail under it. The slightly shorter teen managed to recover her poise and tried to return the look with a challenging, confident one of her own.

She was only partially successful but the blonde consented to answer her, albeit in a surly and impatient voice, "I don't know, it was sometime last fall. It's not like I have the date circled on my calendar so I can celebrate it!" She shook her head at her fellow sophomore and turned away, intent on heading to class.

"No," the brunette persisted patiently, "what was going on at school at the time?"

The question caused Lindsey to suspend her exit; the blonde paused and thought for a moment and she decided not to just head straight for her lesson. "Well, we had just finished a play… Freddie's play," she began slowly and smiled at the thought of her boyfriend. The warm tone of her voice as she mentioned his name caused a pang of jealousy to well up within the brown-haired girl facing her.

"He dumped me last night," Christine admitted quietly in a sad tone.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, we'd just done a routine together for the end of our dance class; our whole semester grade depended on it… we nailed it – got an A for the class – and then it was suddenly 'see ya!'"

"He did the same to me!" Lindsey exclaimed in dawning comprehension. "We got a good grade for the acting part of Freddie's play, and our other acting work in class, the play he talked me into co-directing with him too, then without warning that was it, we were done – and _you_ were the new flavour of the month." Her voice retained its bitterness at the memory, despite the fact that she was, of course, now dating Freddie.

"Typical guy," the brunette lamented, ignoring the hint of accusation in the blonde's last comment, "he takes what he wants and then leaves."

"They're not all like that," Lindsey commented, thinking of Freddie and smiling again as she felt a warm glow return to her chest.

"Yeah, you seem happy," there was definitely a trace of jealousy in the brunette's tone now, then she smirked. "Hey, let me know when you're done with him; I could do with a good guy."

"Yeah, don't hold your breath on that one…"

The two tenth grade girls shared a smile and a laugh and headed to class together.

* * *

"So this dude…" Jade began.

"Smoothie guy," Cat giggled.

"Does he _have_ a name?" Beck was curious. Cat had been seeing 'smoothie guy' for the last couple of weeks, since her sudden break-up with Eli, but had never actually given them his name.

"Oh right, yeah, his name's Jake."

Freddie raised his eyebrows a little as the name caused him to remember Jake Crandall, Carly's crush; the singer who was tone-deaf. He glanced around the rec room (he was taking advantage of Lindsey's continued absence due to extra lunchtime rehearsals for the showcase to spend a little more time with his friends – and get in some ping pong practice) to take in the mood of his friends. The first thing that was obvious to him was Eli's absence; the sandy-blond had avoided being in the same place as Cat since their break-up. It hadn't helped, Freddie mused, that immediately after the break-up, she had begun talking about "smoothie guy". Freddie had spoken to his friend privately and he was understandably a little upset that she had begun dating someone else so soon. The tech producer also felt that Eli was a little guarded around him regarding the split but he figured that the boy would confide in him if and when he wanted to. Thoughts of the former couple led him inevitably to look to the red-head; he noticed that she seemed rather more upbeat now that she knew that he was going to be with them on a regular basis for at least the rest of this week leading up to the Big Showcase and the short break – aside from the day that he had his 'on-line school paper' meetings.

Work on the website, which the Juniors in charge of the project had decided to name "The Slap" was progressing swiftly. Having built the iCarly site from the ground up Freddie was able to apply a lot of the same things to this new site, bringing individual comments for each student, a separate spot for each of them (which, he warned, would take up _a lot_ of storage space on their central computer). He was working in a small team with some older kids, most of whom were willing to stomach it being 'his' team because of who he was (although he noticed that one of the sophomores seemed far from happy taking orders from him), and he felt that they were making a lot of progress – sometimes a little _too_ much as one evening his mildly annoyed girlfriend found him still at work almost half-an-hour after the time he had agreed to meet her following her Big Showcase rehearsal.

"Are you gonna keep me waiting all night?" she called from the doorway of the computer room.

He looked up from the blonde to the clock and gasped.

"Oh Lindsey, I'm sorry. I completely lost track of time." He stood up and headed over to her before calling back to his group, "I gotta go, guys, we can wrap this all up tomorrow. I'll work on the 'updates' routine tonight or tomorrow if between you guys you can get the video embedding stuff integrated and maybe start thinking about a couple of micro-games we could put on?"

The other teenage boys nodded their acceptance of his proposal and waved him off as he left the workstation and headed towards the door and his girlfriend.

"You're lucky you're cute," she half-chided him as he reached her, accepting his apology with a peck on his lips. Lindsey took his hand and they departed. Several of the guys threw slightly jealous glances at the couple, possibly due to the fact that a fellow 'geek' had bagged such an attractive girl.

"So, you're heading back up to Seattle for semester break?" the blonde asked him to confirm as they exited the school building.

"Part of it, yeah," he confirmed, releasing her hand and draping his arm over her shoulders, "we fly up on Saturday morning. My mom wants to spend a couple of days with family and I'll catch up with some people too."

"Anyone interesting?"

"Well, Carly and Spencer since I'm talking to her again; you know we used to live across the hallway from them?" The blonde nodded; she knew, of course, about Carly from Freddie's days on iCarly. She was mildly surprised to not have to suppress even a small pang of jealousy from his mention of the brunette; she knew that they were friends and talked regularly, either on the phone or via video chat, but she also knew the story of her involvement in his and Cat's break-up and was pretty sure that there was no danger of anything happening between the pair anymore.

"Anyone else that you'll see if you're there for most of the week?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah, I'll go and visit Sam in juvie," Lindsey nodded at the mention of the 'other third of iCarly', "she should be out soon but I think she'd like to see a friendly face before then." He smiled at the thought of 'the other blonde'. "But we're not going to be up there for too long," he continued, "just a few days really; so once we're back, near the end of the week, if the weather's good I've arranged to meet up with the guys and we plan to hit the beach."

"Sounds good," she said with a regretful tone. "I wish I could go with you all."

"Hey, you'll be on the beach all week," he reminded her in a light, teasing tone as he squeezed her gently with his arm. The blonde was headed to Cancun for a few days with her parents and, as much as she was really looking forward to the holiday, she wished that she and her boyfriend could spend some of the break together. Snatching a quick make-out session at break or lunch, or stealing a kiss between classes, was all well and good but she would have loved to have been able to spend a few relaxing days in his company, without worrying about rehearsals, recitals or homework.

Lindsey contented herself with leaning into him as they walked, and consoled herself with the knowledge that they would at least be together the following night for the Big Showcase and have a little time at school together before Semester Break.

The couple arrived at the local Chilli My Bowl, about a ten minute walk from their school, and claimed a vacant table for two near the back of the restaurant. Lindsey pulled a face as she scanned the menu, not seeing very much that appealed to her.

"Do you want to go somewhere else?" her boyfriend asked, seeing her expression.

"No, chilli will be fine."

"If you're sure…"

"_Yes_, now just go and order already!" she waved him off with a grin.

The boy smiled and headed for the counter, returning shortly after with a couple of bowls of steaming chilli and a small selection of breads.

They ate in silence, each lost in their own thoughts; Lindsey was focussing on her routine for the performance the next night while Freddie's thoughts were divided between the work he'd need to do for the show and what he needed to do for the new website. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, though, as they traded little smiles and glances throughout. Once they were done with their food they left together and Freddie walked his girl home.

"So, see you tomorrow," he said as they reached her driveway. She pulled him in for a kiss.

"You've got chilli breath," she complained afterwards.

"No kidding," he smiled. She laughed along with him. "Goodnight Linds."

"'Night Freddie."

* * *

The end of the week, the end of school before Spring Break and the day of the Big Showcase had finally arrived. Lindsey had long since abandoned any pretence at calm; she had been a bag of nerves all day, snapping at her boyfriend throughout and dismissing out of hand his attempts to comfort or reassure her. Freddie was beginning to feel a little hurt by her attitude, though he understood that it was due to nerves more than anything else. The blonde had realised what she was doing too, and found him after last period as he sat in the library; he was trying to get as much of work done as he could before the Showcase started so that he wouldn't have to do it during the break.

"I'm sorry Freddie," she whispered as she walked up behind him and placed her left hand on his left shoulder, her right on his right upper arm with her chin resting on top of his head. "I've been stressing and fretting over tonight and I've been taking it out on you."

He leaned backwards into her body, slightly uncomfortable about exactly where his head was in relation to her chest, and replied in a reassuring voice, "It's ok; I know it's the Showcase talking and not you. Besides, that's what I'm here for."

She smiled gratefully and lifted her chin from him, swooping down to kiss his right cheek. "I'll hold you to that," she laughed.

"You can _hold_ me as long as you like," he whispered. She grinned at his attempts at flirting.

"See, you're learning," she encouraged him.

"I have a good teacher," he giggled.

"Flattery will get you everywhere."

"I'm counting on it."

Her eyes widened at just how adventurous he was getting with it and how quickly. Sadly time was against her and she was forced to say a quick goodbye, accompanied by an almost obligatory, brief kiss, before heading to the dressing rooms to get ready for the Showcase. As he was involved behind the scenes he didn't need to be there so early; the former tech producer tried to reorganise his thoughts and refocus on his work. He managed to get most of it done before time caught up with him too and he had to head for the Black Box theatre.

The sole participating ninth grader took his position in the wings of the theatre near the small control panel. He involved himself in the animated discussion between the other kids who were involved with this side of the production as they made sure that everyone knew what they had to do and when they had to do it. The school principal nodded appreciatively as he overheard the discussion.

"Excellent, boys," he told them, "It sounds like you're all ready to go with this," before bustling off to talk with some of the acts who were getting ready to go on stage; the air was thick with nervous energy as the curtain call came ever closer. Freddie looked around the off-stage area and spotted Lindsey stood with her partner on the other side of the stage, having changed into a sparkling silver dress. He gave her a wave and a supportive smile; she waved back and the ginger-haired junior girl she was with turned in his direction for a second before the two resumed their conversation, though the gestures in his direction led him to think he was one of the topics that they were now discussing – particularly as a happy smile had suddenly replaced his girlfriend's previous nervous grimace.

The fifteen-year-old began to regret his decision to participate in the Showcase, not because the tasks were difficult but because his involvement meant that he couldn't enjoy the spectacle. He would have loved to have been in the audience admiring the wide array of talented performers on show but instead he had to control things the strobe lighting and spot lights to help things go smoothly. He consoled himself by looking at the spectators from time to time, seeing how much they all appeared to be enjoying it. He recognised Lindsey's parents sat in the middle of the seating area; as he was at the side of the stage they didn't see him. He was also delighted by the looks of elation as each act finished their routine. One or two acts even took the time to go over to him and his colleagues and thank them for their assistance; their appreciation was something that meant a great deal to him.

Finally, just before there would be a short intermission, Lindsey's moment arrived. The two girls had rehearsed a short play, just a single scene that would culminate in a duet. He smiled as the blonde strode onto the stage, perfectly in time with the spotlight he shone, and delivered her opening line as she reached the centre of it. He dimmed it slightly while lighting up the second spotlight, following the ginger-haired junior as she entered from the other side with her own opening line. He extinguished the two lights as the main stage lighting came back on and enjoyed the girls' performance of their scene; they were best friends who were love rivals fighting for the affections of the same boy and showing how their friendship fell apart during the pursuit. The scene was reaching its conclusion when the seventeen-year-old exited the stage, leaving Lindsey alone in the middle to sympathetic "aww"s from the audience as she wiped tears from her eyes from the demise of her friendship. Freddie turned up the spotlight on his girlfriend again as the other stage lights faded to darkness around her.

"_I let it blind me_," she began to sing.

"_I let it blind me_," another voice repeated the words from the side. The tech producer scrambled for the other spotlight, switching it on just as the junior came back to the side of the stage.

"_I thought I loved him_," the blonde continued as her on-stage former friend walked back across the stage towards her. Freddie's eyes began to well slightly as he heard his girlfriend's voice; he had never heard her sing like this before (very occasionally she would sing along quietly if there was some music playing when they were out on a date or the radio or a CD was playing when they were at one another's houses – and, of course, she and the others had sung "Happy Birthday" for him recently).

"_But it was all a LIE!_" the two sang in unison as they were reunited in the middle of the stage, both spotlights pointing to the same area of the floor, bringing full attention on the two girls.

The song continued with the girls expressing their feelings, their remorse for the wedge that they allowed to be driven between them and their reconciliation before its conclusion was marked by them embracing warmly to boisterous applause from the audience, particularly the blonde's parents. Freddie grinned; he had arranged a little surprise and flicked a switch dropping ticker tape onto where the girls stood. They pulled back from one another in mild surprise at this development but maintained their poise and professionalism to stand together and take a bow as the cheering intensified.

The other kids from the first half of the Big Showcase joined the two to take their own share of the applause before the curtain came down and the blonde spied her boy grinning at her from afar. She strode purposefully over to him and narrowed her eyes slightly at him.

"You could have warned me you were going to do that!" she complained, playfully swatting his arm and then poking him in the ribs. He just smiled before replying,

"I wanted it to be a surprise. Anyway, I thought you were fantastic," he attempted to pacify her; it worked as she smiled and crashed her lips against his, pulling him into an embrace as she did. "You _have_ to sing for me sometime," he said when they pulled their faces apart.

"Maybe," she grinned, "if you're a good boy," her whisper and smile held a hint of seduction, though the moment was ended as the school principal placed an arm on each of them, almost joining their hug.

"Excellent performance Lindsey. Freddie, some fantastic work from you too; keep it up in the second half." Then he left to work his way around the other acts and congratulate them all.

After the interval the remainder of the show went equally well; Freddie was far more relaxed now that his girlfriend's performance was out of the way and he and the others carried off the technical part without a hitch. The blonde changed out of the pretty dress she had worn for her act and back into her more customary jeans and a T-shirt. She hovered near him, providing something of a distraction for the boys Freddie was working with, and offering support to him while he continued his work.

Finally the curtain came down on the night; Principal Eikner and Lane, the Guidance Councillor, called the group together to give their thanks and congratulations on their performances and to tell them to enjoy their well-earned break. The exhausted teenagers began to splinter and head for the break either on their own, in pairs or in small groups. Freddie was surprised to see Cat, Jade and Beck appear back-stage; he hadn't realised that they would be attending (he knew that his mother was working this evening and so would not be present; he had told her that it wasn't too big a deal as he would just be behind the scenes rather than in a starring role) nor had he seen his three friends when he scanned the audience. Before the trio could reach him, however, Lindsey's parents arrived and began gushing over their daughter's acting and singing. He smiled at the sight before, from the corner of his eye he saw three more people talking to Trina Vega; he assumed the older two to be her parents but the younger of them, a _very_ pretty girl he noted despite the gentle pressure his own girlfriend was exerting on his right hand with her left, intrigued him. Thoughts of the mystery girl left his mind as Lindsey informed him that she and her parents were going for a celebration dinner and that they would love it if he joined them.

He was delighted to accept but asked for a couple of minutes to see his friends; they agreed, especially as Cat rushed over to the blonde and began chatting excitedly about how good her performance had been, something that pleased the sophomore girl immensely. Even Jade seemed impressed, which surprised the tenth grader as she knew her to be… reserved in her praise for pretty much anything. The blonde's parents waited patiently for their daughter, her boyfriend and his freshman friends to talk for a few minutes about the show in general and her performance and his part in things in particular.

Eventually they said their goodbyes; Freddie made provisional plans to see the trio the following Friday and hit the beach before he left with Lindsey and her family and the four headed to the restaurant. It was a _very_ nice restaurant, Freddie reflected on entering – not as upmarket as Maestro's but still enough for him to feel that he was underdressed in jeans and a casual, flannel shirt over his penny Tee. He wasn't the only one to feel that way as his girlfriend commented,

"I should have kept my dress from the performance on!"

"You look fine," her mother assured her, "they don't have a dress code here."

There were no comments or observations as they were seated by the restaurant staff, though the teenagers did notice a couple of glances in their direction from some of the other patrons. Lindsey noticed her boyfriend's uncomfortable look and squeezed his hand gently in reassurance. He smiled and she brought his hand to her lips and kissed it. Across the table her parents smiled at the little PDA from their daughter. Freddie accepted a menu from the server as they ordered their drinks; he opened if and pushed it between himself and his girlfriend and they leaned close to one another while they studied it; their temples were almost touching as they pored over the document. Her father frowned slightly at seeing just how close the two were to one another and just how comfortable they looked together, but his wife patted his arm gently and smiled.

"She looks happy," she whispered. Her husband shrugged and the couple turned to their own menu.

"See anything you like, Freddie?" he asked.

"Uh yeah," the brown-eyed boy looked up to meet the man's eyes. He glanced back at the menu and said, "The barbecue ribs sound good, want to share?" he addressed the latter question to the blonde teenager on his left. She giggled and nodded. "Then uh… maybe the steak with some fries."

"Steak sounds good," agreed his girlfriend. "But I think I'll go for mash and seasonal veg. That's this side of the table sorted," she laughed.

"No vegetables for you Freddie?" her mother was curious.

"I get my mom's ultra-healthy stuff every night," he explained, "It's nice to push the boat out once in a while."

"Trust me, he's right about his mom's cooking," the blonde echoed. Her first-hand experience was still limited to her 'party food' from his birthday a couple of months before but she had heard plenty of stories about the meals Marissa served her son.

The foursome enjoyed a nice meal together; Freddie noted the guarded looks Lindsey's dad continually shot at the couple, while he saw her mother seemed far happier with things between the two – she would almost always be smiling when she looked in their direction and saw them looking so at ease with one another. She would later remark to her husband that she thought they made a cute couple.

After their meal Lindsey's father paid the check and they left the restaurant. He thanked them as they arrived at his home (Marissa was still at work so he would have the place to himself overnight). The blonde got out of the car with him and walked him to the front door; her father watched them cautiously through the car window, eliciting an exaggerated sigh from his wife.

"So… I'll see you when I get back from Cancun," she whispered, pulling him into a hug.

"Have a great time," he forced a smile, suppressing the urge to say how much he would miss her.

"Enjoy Seattle – and the beach," she grinned.

He held her closer and they kissed, softly and tenderly. Again this produced mixed reactions from the parents watching in the car.

"Bye," she whispered and turned to head back to her parents. She gave one last wave as she got into their car and he watched them pull away before heading inside his home.

* * *

**AN: Thanks for reading. Please let me know what you thought via review; your feedback is always very much appreciated. I hope to see you all again next week. PD.  
**


	20. Chapter 19

**AN: Hello everyone and welcome to this week's chapter of the story. I hope you are all well. As always I would like to start by expressing my gratitude for those of you who reviewed the last chapter; your thoughts and feedback are always welcomed.**

**LittleMissMusical – you're right that Freddie is perhaps rather young, being only 15. His girlfriend, however, is pretty much a year older than him (she'll soon be 16) so it's possible she's looking for something a little more serious than he's ready for right now, who knows?**

**Challenge King – Freddie and Tori? I couldn't possibly comment on something that may or may not happen a year from now in story terms.**

**Subject87 – you're about to find out.**

**Rihaan – I addressed via PM. I can't go into details of what will happen without going into spoilers.**

**Agent-M – yes, it's Ryder of "Beggin' On Your Knees" infamy. Lindsey and Christine are both exes of his according to that episode, which is where I got the name of Freddie's girlfriend (though the physical description of her is my own invention).**

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

It was Spring Break at Hollywood Arts and even the weather was celebrating; the April sun blazed down on the Los Angeles suburb, much to the delight of Cat Valentine. The red-haired teen bounced around her bedroom as she gathered her clothing for the day ahead; she opted for her blue and white striped shorts and a matching powder blue T-shirt with sandals on her bare feet. The fourteen-year-old skipped down to breakfast and sat happily at the table while her brother ate quietly and distractedly beside her.

Mindful of his "issues", the teenage girl directed her conversation towards her mother and the two Valentine females discussed her plans; she was meeting Jake – aka 'Smoothie guy' - at the Northridge Mall this morning and had made a tentative arrangement to getting together with Jade (with or without Beck) there in the afternoon.

"I liked that Freddie guy," her brother spoke up all of a sudden, while Jake was being discussed by the other two. He then returned his gaze to his plate as if he hadn't spoken, while Cat and her mother exchanged glances; the Valentine matriarch felt a little worried that the boy who (in a way) had been the reason for her daughter's misery a few months ago was being mentioned so she felt a wave of relief wash away her fears, mingled as the relief was with a little concern (given what she knew of the boy's current romantic situation) as the girl grinned at her son before giggling,

"So did I."

Mrs Valentine drove her daughter to Northridge and gave her a goodbye kiss to the cheek. She watched with a smile as the bubbly girl virtually skipped inside the mall before she drove to her next stop; the pharmacy to pick up her son's latest meds. She shook her head as she reflected on how complicated the two kids made her home life.

Cat was a little early and a cursory look around the agreed meeting area, just outside the smoothie place where they were due to meet, yielded no sign of Jake. She wandered around serenely until she found herself at Yotally Togurt, where she went inside and ordered a frozen yogurt from the counter.

The red-velvet haired girl giggled loudly from the 'brain freeze' she received as a result of taking a large spoonful of her treat; her reaction drew curious looks from the small knot of other patrons sat inside the establishment. She either ignored or was unaware of them as she strolled around the place eating her yogurt; unseen, behind her back, a young boy tugged his mother's sleeve and pointed to her in confusion.

The Hollywood Arts freshman dropped her freshly emptied cup and plastic spoon in the trash can by the door before leaving the shop and returning to where she expected to meet her date, ever so slightly shivering at the miniscule protection her choice of attire offered against the mall's air conditioning. This time Jake was there; the dark haired boy was leaning casually against the wall and waved as the two made eye contact. Cat clapped happily and raced over to him, earning herself a brisk hug. He felt in the pocket of his jeans for some money before inviting the girl for a smoothie; she giggled her acceptance, thinking that he was living up the pet name she had given to him.

Drinks were consumed before the teenagers lost themselves for a couple of hours walking around some of the stores at the mall. Cat's pearphone rang just as they were leaving one of the toy stores (she had dragged her beau in there to look for a couple of things – she claimed they were for her brother, he wasn't convinced); the girl answered and began chatting with her best friend. The gothic girl was letting her know that Beck wouldn't be joining them for the afternoon; he had been told at the last minute that he and his parents would spend a few days in Canada visiting family.

"Yay, girls' afternoon out," cried the child-like teen in delight. Jade winced at the other end of the phone, both at the description of their proposed meeting and the fact that her friend had near-deafened her with the excited shout. Jake, meanwhile, looked a little disappointed; he had still yet to meet any of Cat's school friends and was looking forward to the chance to do so. On learning, from the girl's implicit statement, that it would not happen today he mumbled an excuse and left after she hung up, giving her a quick hug as he did. She stared after him shrugging at what she thought was some rather odd behaviour on his part, disappearing so suddenly. As Jade would be meeting her at the Northridge Mall she decided she'd have another smoothie while she waited.

* * *

Freddie Benson left his aunt's apartment and made the short walk across downtown Seattle. On arriving at his destination, the eighth floor of Bushwell Plaza, he first gazed at his old front door, briefly wondering who was living there now and speculating on what they had done to his old bedroom and home. The boy then turned his gaze across the corridor and knocked on the door of apartment 8-C of the complex. He grinned as he heard a female voice cry "I've got it." The Seattle-born fifteen-year-old waited patiently for his former crush to cross the living area; he heard a high-pitched squeal from just the other side of the door and assumed that the brunette had looked through the spy-hole and identified him.

"Freddie!" she cried as she pulled the door open and flung herself upon him. He was knocked back a step by her enthusiastic welcome but caught her and laughed as he hugged the girl tightly.

"Hey Carls, it's great to see you."

"You too, it's been way too long! What was it, June, July when you left?" She was both too excited and too smart to mention that they had not come across one another during his visit to his home city over Christmas.

"Something like that," he nodded his agreement; he, too, was happy to avoid any discussion of his previous trip back to Seattle.

Remembering her manners the web star ushered him inside her home. He gratefully accepted the invitation and took a seat on the familiar and well-worn couch.

"Freddo!" Spencer's shout filled the apartment. The brown-eyed teen turned towards and smiled at the eccentric sculptor as he loped across the living area; Freddie had to leave his seat almost as soon as he took it in order to embrace his former neighbour.

"Hey Spence, great to see you – and good call on the birthday present." He turned to Carly and told her, "It was perfect."

"You're welcome," the Shay children said in unison.

Spencer was in the middle of making a late breakfast; the artist threw a few more things into the frying pan and soon breakfast for three was served up. Freddie had already eaten one of his mother's breakfasts but the prospect of real, and slightly unhealthy, food was too much for the brown-haired boy to turn down and he eagerly tucked in to his crisp bacon, fried eggs and French toast (the latter caused him to involuntarily think of the red velvet-haired girl back in Los Angeles; he smiled at the thought of her) while Carly filled him on her life at Briarwood school. The girl was clearly thriving in the Private School environment and seemed to be going from strength to strength there (she had achieved straight 'A's on her report for the semester, without anyone hacking the school computer this time she noted with a grin) – much, he reflected, like he was down in LA at Hollywood Arts.

"I could always hack into it if you really need me to," he joked with a grin. She declined with a laugh and the pair felt a sense of real peace in one another's company; it was a feeling that, though undiscussed, pleased them both.

"How's Cat?" Carly asked a little timidly. Spencer frowned a little at her, something that surprised Freddie, given how he had defended her at Gallini's over Christmas. He wondered whether the lanky artist was simply defending her publically, whereas in private – or semi-private, Freddie was here after all – he felt free to express a little more disapproval of his sister's actions.

"She's good," he smiled. "She's dating some guy she met at a mall – she _was_ dating one of my school friends but that ended a couple of weeks ago… I'm not sure why really."

The brunette's former tech producer was then given the opportunity to talk about the rest of his new life after breakfast as the Shay siblings plied him with questions about how things were going for him in southern California. He talked at length about his girlfriend; a real shine and light came to his eyes as he spoke about the blonde sophomore. He proudly showed them a photo of them together on his phone, noting with mild irritation that Carly was working hard to keep her facial expressions in check – something that surprised him given the fact that she was dating a guy from Briarwood and had dated others; he assumed that she was jealous for some reason and couldn't understand why. Spencer, in contrast, seemed happy for the former iCarly member in his romantic endeavours so he chose to ignore the brunette's disquiet for now and continued to share some of the details about his new life, friendships and relationship with his former neighbours.

"So what else do you have planned while you're up here?" Carly enquired of him once he paused for breath from his animated discussion of just how well life was treating him in L.A.

"I'm going to go and see Sam in juvie today – and hopefully again before we head back to Los Angeles on Thursday; I don't think she gets too many visitors."

Carly looked distinctly uncomfortable at his words and observation but she said nothing; the blonde had been a huge part of her life for over five years but they had begun to drift apart when she was accepted into her private school. The little trouble-maker had resented her friend's acceptance while she herself had not been considered and, if the brunette was honest, their friendship was starting to fall apart before Sam's arrest for beating up Gibby (over school, Shane and a number of little niggles that just started to escalate as they festered). She still found herself secretly relieved, however, that Freddie didn't suggest she go with him; the web star didn't really want to go, nor did she want to have to make up some excuse – or worse, turn him down out of hand. She had seen the blonde a couple of times but the terms the former best friends had been on during those visits meant that she had little interest in trying to keep the friendship together. Part of her did regret losing Sam as a friend but the new life, friendships and relationships she had forged at Briarwood more than made up for it – she felt that was the case anyway.

"So... do you know who moved into our old apartment?" the Hollywood Arts student asked curiously, gesturing with his thumb towards the front door and the place in question.

"Oh…" Carly paused for a second and Freddie noticed her redden ever so slightly, "it's a family – a mom, dad and their son. He's ten, eleven?" The brunette glanced to her older brother who nodded in confirmation. "I think he's got a little crush on me," she disclosed, feeling slightly embarrassed to do so.

"Imagine that," Freddie laughed as he thought back on being that age when his _own_ crush on the web star had begun. She met his eyes and joined him in mirth.

* * *

Jade texted Cat as she arrived at the mall; the green and blue-streak haired girl received a reply and soon arrived outside the shop where her friend was still sucking on her latest smoothie. As the red-head didn't notice her friend's arrival, being completely lost in her treat, the mean girl decided to leave her to it for another couple of minutes she headed to the Skybucks stand across the main walkway and ordered a coffee. She grimaced after taking her first sip. _Nowhere near as good as Jet Brew_ she thought with a wince. Nonetheless the girl put her love of coffee over her disdain for the brand and continued to sip her drink as she waited for Cat to finish her own.

The red haired girl looked up from her cup and spotted her friend hovering outside. She was on her feet in an instant and, picking up the rest of her smoothie, shot out of the shop to meet her. The gothic girl was privately relieved that Cat was holding her drink as it meant the girl wouldn't pull her into a hug; much as she loved Cat and considered her to be her best friend she really wasn't one for friendly hugs… unless they were from Beck. She hid her grin in another sip of coffee at that thought.

"So where do you want to go?" Cat asked happily as they picked a direction at random and walked away from the smoothie outlet.

"There's a store upstairs that sells memorabilia from horror movies," Jade informed her. "I'm going there." Her eyes shone brightly at the thought of the various things that could be available there.

Cat wore a neutral expression as they entered; the girl really didn't like the look of the store and felt rather uncomfortable at being there, if not a little scared by some of the merchandise, but she knew that Jade wanted to go there and that was pretty much that. The tag-along contented herself with following behind her friend, watching happily as Jade eagerly perused the displays, picking up props and replicas and savouring how they felt in her hands.

"I'm definitely coming back here after my birthday," the mean girl breathed softly. "I feel like _you_ in a candy store," she addressed her friend, who giggled.

"I love candy."

Jade rolled her eyes slightly and continued her exploration of the store, marvelling at the myriad of artefacts that she would dearly love to purchase.

"Can I help you with anything?" the assistant enquired politely, seeing the potential to make a sale with such a clearly interested customer.

"Do you have any items from _The Scissoring_?" she asked, the movie's name rolling off her tongue almost reverentially.

"We have a section devoted to it over there," he gestured to the rear of the store and the pale teen practically galloped over to the area. Cat stared after her for a few seconds before turning to the assistant, still stood watching after her abrupt departure.

"She _really_ likes that movie," the sweet girl explained and made to go after her friend.

Half an hour later, complete with a bulging bagful of goodies and a large hole in her allowance, Jade led Cat out of the store with a satisfied look on her face.

"Can we hit _Toys for You_ now?" the shorter girl piped up.

"Yeah, sure," the other girl grumbled, allowing her friend to lead the way to one of _her_ favourite stores.

* * *

Freddie arrived at the Seattle Juvenile Penitentiary and signed in as a visitor. The duty officer raised her eyebrows when he declared who he was here to visit; Samantha Puckett was not a name that was synonymous with visitors for the establishment.

He was surprised when the officers directed him to a different area than the one he had seen her in over Christmas. Unlike his last visit, because she was now so close to her release – and behaving herself for the most part, Sam was permitted visits at a table rather than them having a wall of plexiglass between them. He took advantage of the fact and stood to give the girl a big hug as she approached, something that earned him a gentle but meaningful reprimand from the guards; they threatened to escort him out if he persisted with it.

"So, Sam, how are you?" he asked earnestly, after apologising to the prison officials. He saw the dirty-blonde smile and was reminded forcibly that it was a sight that he actually missed.

"Same old, same old in here," she shrugged. "Tell me about the latest news in your life instead. How's L.A. treating you?"

"Things are great, life's going really well for me," he enthused.

"You and your girl back together then?" Sam was happy for her friend, if a little envious of how much better things were for him than for her.

"No… I'm actually dating someone else right now," he admitted with a shy smile.

"Seriously? _Another_ girl wants a piece of you? What's wrong with the chicks down in California?" she laughed. He made a face to show his irritation, even though he knew she wasn't being _entirely_ serious. "So what does she look like?" the blonde amended.

Freddie pulled his trusty G5 from the pocket of his jeans. "I have pictures," he smiled with barely concealed delight as he pulled up a shot of them together. "Oh, here you are," he held the phone for the juvie inmate to see.

"Whoa Fredward, I never realised you liked us blondes!"

"I like _sane_ blondes," he jibed back with a smirk of his own.

"Touché," the incarcerated teen smiled.

His face dropped a little at her answer. "Speaking of Shay… kinda," he shrugged, "I saw Carly earlier." The brown-haired teen was not cruel enough to state outright that she was not going to be coming with him.

"I haven't seen her… not since before your last visit. I gave up counting how many days it's been," her tone was one of sad resignation then, seeing the mischievous glint manifest itself in his eyes she sighed theatrically, "no Freddie, it's not because I can't count past three figures."

"Wasn't gonna say it," he replied innocently before they shared a laugh.

"I get out next week," she told him quietly.

"That's awesome," he was genuinely thrilled for the dirty-blonde haired girl.

"And I'm not coming back here. I'm gonna stay out of trouble from now on," she resolved.

"You _are_ Sam, right? You didn't switch with your sister on her last visit?" he joked. "Obviously not," he smirked in response to her death-glare, "only Sam could give me _that_ look." Then, after they shared another brief laugh, he leaned over and took her hands in his, casting a wary glance to the officers but they made no move or comment over the gesture. "I meant what I said at Christmas," he said softly, "if you _ever_ need someone to talk to, I'll always be on the other end of the phone," his words were sincere and his hands still rested on top of hers as he looked her straight in the girl's eyes.

"Thanks Freddie, I'll definitely keep in touch."

"Will you be back at school?" he asked.

"Not Ridgeway, they expelled me. Mom's trying to find another school in the area that's willing to take a delinquent like me."

"Time's up," a guard appeared at his shoulder and informed him of the fact. The two teens stood up.

"We don't go back until Thursday. I'll come again before then," he promised.

"You don't have to," she tried to wave him off.

"I want to," he insisted sincerely before pulling her in and kissing her cheek. "I'll see you soon Sam," he whispered before he was escorted away and she was returned to her cell.

* * *

Having arrived back in LA late Thursday afternoon Freddie called Eli, André and Beck, who was also now back from his family visit, once he got home and unpacked his things. The boys made some plans for their trip to the beach the next day. Beck, obviously, would let Jade know and she in turn would then pass the details on to Cat.

The brown-haired tech genius woke on Friday morning to the sound of his front door closing; his mother had just left for her shift at the hospital having taken advantage of the off days of her shift pattern to make the trip north. He groaned as he glanced at his bedside clock and saw how early it was. He rolled over and went back to sleep for a while before he was roused by the shrill Galaxy Wars ringtone of his G5 pearphone.

"Hey bud," André greeted him brightly, "you all set to go?"

"I will be," he grumbled sleepily, "once I have something to eat."

"Sure man, see you on the bus in an hour."

The brown-eyed boy smiled; he was grateful to his friend for the call, otherwise he would probably not have been up in time. Freddie opened his curtains and assessed the view outside; a brilliant blue sky and bright sun greeted him. Opening the window he felt the gentle morning heat that threatened a hot, late spring day – a stark contrast to the rain and chilly climate he had left behind in the Pacific North-West the previous afternoon.

He dressed in a thin, white T-shirt and his khaki shorts, grinning as he realised that this was the first outing the apparel would have this year, before making his way downstairs and enjoying a quick breakfast of cereal and coffee. Upon finishing and clearing away what he had used, the boy packed a beach towel, a couple of bottles of water and some sunblock in his bag before leaving the house and heading to the bus stop.

He was surprised, when he boarded the bus, to see his friends, and the other travellers, dressed far differently to him; most wore jeans and sweatshirts or light jackets and the pack of teens seemed equally confused to see him dressed for summer.

"Are you gonna be warm enough?" Beck wondered aloud as Freddie took a seat next to Eli in front of him and Jade; Cat and André sat together behind him, the bubbly girl was the only other one of the group dressed in shorts and a T-shirt.

"Compared to Seattle? Oh yeah," he laughed, "this is _definitely_ warm enough. I'm surprised you don't feel the same after your trip north. Anyway, Cat seems to agree with me." The girl in question giggled at her name being mentioned and nodded enthusiastically.

"Hey Freddie, how was Seattle?" she called to him.

He proceeded to answer her with an update of what he had done over the past few days and who he had seen. His tales took pretty much the entire journey to the beach to cover (Jade lost interest in his stories before the bus reached Culver City) and the teens exited with a little air of excitement as they reached their destination.

"Yay, ocean!" Cat cried happily as the sparkling water came into view a few yards from the bus stop.

"It's probably a bit early for swimming. Cat! CAT!" Jade called but the ebullient girl had already sped off down the sand. She turned to the others and Freddie shrugged helplessly. "Whatever, let's find some place to sit," the today-green streak haired fourteen-year-old sighed.

The teenage group found an unoccupied patch of sand and dropped their things before spreading a few towels on the beach. Freddie took a seat, watching as Cat ran through the wet sand by the water's edge, sandals waving in her hand and giggling audibly every time the waves lapped over her bare feet. He grinned at the spectacle, glad to see her having a good time.

"You're _seriously_ cold?" he laughed as Eli sat next to him, knees drawn up under his chin and hugging his legs. The sandy-blond nodded uncomfortably as he turned to face him, which caused the Seattle-born teen to laugh all the harder as he lay back on his towel.

"At least I'm not as over-dressed as Jade," his friend defended himself, nodding to the pale-skinned girl.

"Doesn't matter; I don't care how hot it gets, I don't sweat," she informed them brusquely.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Freddie was confused by the absurdity of the physiologically impossible claim that she made.

"It's gross so I don't do it."

The two boys exchanged looks with Beck and with one another; all three shrugged and went back to their respective activities while the gothic girl grinned behind her sunglasses.

Cat eventually tired of racing through the Pacific Ocean on her own and walked back to meet her friends; Freddie shuffled across his towel a little to allow the girl to flop down. Eli eyed the interaction pair with a feeling of sour disappointment; the expression in his eyes was hidden behind his dark glasses.

The teens left the beach in the early afternoon and found some shade and shelter at a group of tables near a few fast food trucks lined up on the side of the road. They made their lunch selections and sat together, the Angelinos took the opportunity to fill Freddie in on how _their_ weeks (and Beck's in Canada) had gone. The Seattleite was amused by the rare excitement in Jade's voice while she was talking about the store she had found in the Northridge Mall and he grinned as Cat recounted her little date with Jake, though he noticed with a little concern that Eli frown by his side. The tech producer hoped that his friends would be fine in time, just as he and the red-head now were (at least, from his perspective). That was up to them though…

Having eaten they opted for a walk around the market area of Venice Beach, seeing the beach become more and more crowded as kids and families took advantage of the weather at the end of Spring Break week. They spent a pleasant couple of hours together just browsing the various stalls before deciding to head back.

"So, any plans for the weekend?" André threw out to the group as they found a block of seats on the bus.

"I thought I'd hit the fencing studio tonight," Freddie revealed, "I've not had a chance in the last couple of weeks so some practice before my class starts again next week would help. Maybe head to the gym over the weekend too, since Linds isn't back until Sunday evening."

André and, much to Jade's chagrin, Beck decided they'd go fencing with the fifteen-year-old (the songsmith would also go with him to the gym over the weekend) and the plans were set. The trio bade their friends goodbye and went their separate ways to get their equipment before meeting up again at Swordplay an hour or so later for a little practice session.

Freddie flopped on his bed after he got back from the studio; he was exhausted after the day at the beach and then his evening exertions; suddenly the plan to meet André at the gym the next day seemed a bad one. He heard a beep on his phone and pulled it from his shorts, frowning slightly at the receipt of a text message from a number that wasn't assigned to any of his contacts. He did, however, recognise the Seattle area code and so decided he would view the message.

_Freddie, Got out today and got a new phone. Not sure what mom did to my old one. Don't want to know either. Sam._

The boy smiled and updated his address book, though he briefly wondered exactly how the girl went about "getting a new phone". Despite his fatigue he pressed the Call button and smiled as he heard the blonde's voice answer.

* * *

**Ok, that's it for this chapter. Please let me know what you thought via the review box below; they really are appreciated. I hope to get the next chapter up on Christmas Day. PD.**


	21. Chapter 20

**AN: Merry Christmas to you all! As hoped for I managed to get this done a couple of days earlier than usual and I hope it is something of a present to you all and a thank you for sticking with the story. **

**At this stage I normally address the reviews from the last chapter but, since they all mostly centred on the same thing I will just thank Challenge King, SpazzQueen15, ArtisticAngel6, LittleMissMusical, Agent M and Guest for your kind words. The main point from that chapter really **_**was**_** the establishment of a genuine Seddie friendship and that, while Sam **_**is**_** out of juvie, I don't see her ending up permanently in LA with Freddie. She may be the occasional "guest star", especially if Freddie is in need of a friend in a few chapters time, but I doubt she'll enrol at Hollywood Arts.**

**Finally, like Freddie, I'm not asking how she "got a new phone"…**

* * *

Cat Valentine sat in her bedroom; it was Sunday evening and school would be back in session the next morning. The red velvet-haired girl was reflecting happily on a good week, having seen plenty of her friends and also spent a little time with the guy she was dating. Speaking of whom, her pearphone beeped to signify a new text message. She picked up the device from her bedside table and looked at it.

_Can you call this evening? We need to talk._

She swallowed nervously at the tone of the message. She re-read it a couple of times; unsurprisingly it never changed. She took a calming breath before calling.

"Hey Jake…"

It was with something akin to delight that Freddie and Lindsey reunited at school on the first morning after their Semester Break. The blonde hadn't arrived back from Cancun until the previous evening so they had been unable to get to see each other before arriving at school. They sat with Freddie's freshman friends in the Asphalt Café and traded stories of Spring Break. The pretty sophomore had loved her vacation (apart from missing her boyfriend and their, now mostly mutual, friends) and it had been the perfect opportunity for her to de-stress after all the rehearsing she had done for her Big Showcase performance and the rigours of a long term at school. She was also eager for details of Freddie's week (and glad to hear snippets from the others) so the group had a good time before school filling one another in on what had happened over their week's break as they waited for the morning bell.

The tenth grader felt a pang of concern over Cat's sombre mood; the red-head and Jake were no longer dating. One of the main reasons, he had complained, was her failure to introduce him to her friends (such as the way her meeting with Jade became a "girl's afternoon out" and the fact that he didn't get invited to the beach with them). He felt that meant that she wasn't seriously interested in him so he decided to pull the plug. The fifteen year old girl's lips thinned at the news; she wasn't blind to the recent failures of Cat's romances and she felt a little worried that they may lead to her looking again at Freddie.

Her additional concern was something that had occurred to her while thinking of her boy during her break. Yes, he had his guy time, particularly fencing or just hanging with Beck and André– or with Eli and, _if one's being generous_ she thought with a grin, Robbie but most of his friends seemed to be girls; Carly and Sam who she knew he had made plans to see in Seattle the previous week and, of course, Cat and Jade. Though she had, surprisingly even to herself, not felt any jealousy when he mentioned that he was seeing the two girls during his trip back to his home city, the large number of girls that her man considered friends was beginning to trouble her a little, not that she wanted to let it show at the moment.

"Y'know," the blonde teen remarked casually as she and Freddie walked towards the entrance to the main school building with his friends following behind them; his left arm was hooked around her back and resting on the left hand side of her abdomen, "we've been together for a bit over three months now."

"Yes," Freddie agreed, doing the arithmetic in his head and thinking that he was picking up on her meaning, "just over a hundred days now isn't it?"

She nodded with a grin. "There's _usually_ a tradition for a hundred days, but we missed it because we were both out of the state," her grin faltered and her tone turned regretful at the thought. "Your mom's on days right now, isn't she?"

"Yes, so there's _no_ way I can be out at midnight before the weekend." It was the young tech producer's turn to speak in a disappointed voice.

"My birthday's this Friday though," she noted spiritedly and he nodded, "and my parents are taking me out for dinner; they've said I can invite you if I want to."

"_Do_ you want to?" he asked with a smirk, earning him a playful swat on the arm.

"What do you think?" she laughed, leaning close to him again, resting her head on his left shoulder.

"Hi lickle Fweddie!" a voice called out, imitating a baby's, to the couple's right and interrupting them. They, and the freshmen behind them, turned to spy its owner, a black haired girl who eyed them maliciously. Jade instantly wore her best frown; she felt that whatever the tenth grader had to say wouldn't be good.

"What do _you_ want Jen?" the blonde sighed.

"Oh I just wanted to see if you'd grown tired of your little boy-toy yet," she snarled, "Obviously not so maybe you'd be willing to tell us how much you were earning for your baby-sitting services instead."

The unpleasant sophomore's friends laughed sycophantically at her taunts and the knot of girls pushed roughly past Lindsey and the freshmen as they headed inside. Jade bowed her head a little as the couple's shoulders sagged (Lindsey's from her classmate's continued criticisms, Freddie's from a fear that his girlfriend would just ultimately decide that he just wasn't worth the grief she was getting because of him)._ I could make you pay in so many ways_, she thought, narrowing her eyes on the tenth graders and their ring leader in particular.

"Hey!" Beck complained in a yelp, drawing her from her plotting.

"Oh, sorry," she smiled awkwardly at her boyfriend, slackening the grip on his hand that was actually beginning to cause him some pain. He frowned at her (she was looking away from him so didn't notice his expression) but he said nothing further as they all headed to the Black Box theatre to collect their timetables for the new term.

The yelp had also drawn Lindsey's attention to the couple; she caught Jade's 'death glare' aimed at her former friends; for some reason she drew more concern from it than she did gratitude. For the first time she began to wonder if losing her friends from her year group really was a price worth paying for Freddie, especially as she began to see girls wherever she looked queuing up to take him from her. She shook her head a little to try and clear the unwelcomed thoughts. When it failed she hoped that her new timetable would do the trick instead.

"Urgh, history… great way to start the term," the blonde complained, "and it's about as far from here as I could get." She sighed. "I guess that means I gotta go." She gave Freddie a quick peck and a promise to discuss plans for their belated 'hundred day kiss' later before she followed some of her classmates from the theatre in the direction of the history department; the rest of Freddie's "gang" waved her off.

"What have I got today?" Freddie muttered rhetorically as he collected his own timetable. "Oh, Sikowitz first… then music. Not too bad for a Monday morning."

Comparing timetables with his friends he saw that he would be in Sikowitz's class with all of them and was in music class with Jade between now and the end of the school year. He was glad that there was at least one friendly face with him but a little disappointed that he wouldn't be able to continue working with André; the two got on very well and the musical genius had certainly helped him with both his keyboard playing and his broader GPA for the subject over their time at the school. His afternoon would see him, Cat and Beck in Science together and then he and André would be together, but in Maths this time.

"Welcome young actors," the balding teacher announced in excitement as the freshmen filed into his room. "The theme of the next few weeks is going to be… comedy!" Freddie raised his eyebrows at the statement and he threw a glance at Jade; the mean girl looked remarkably displeased at their teacher's news. The tech producer guessed that she may not think that comedy was going to be her strong point. He caught Beck's eye and saw the long-haired actor was grinning softly; he had also noted his girlfriend's discomfort at the eccentric teacher's announcement.

The class was divided into small groups; Freddie was with Eli and Jade, Cat with André and Beck. The songsmith and Canadian-born teens opted to take a back seat and allow the red velvet-haired girl to decide on the scene, feeling that her somewhat unique outlook on life would enable her to plan something suitably crazy for them.

"How about…" she began, "we're working in a kitchen at a restaurant and things start going wrong and a big food fight breaks out!"

The two boys looked at one another, instantly regretting their decision to cede creative control to their classmate. André palmed his forehead in dismay and shook his head sadly.

"I think we should do slapstick," Jade began as she sat in a corner of the room with her team mates.

"Let me guess, you'll be doing the slapping?" Freddie smirked, albeit his voice was a little cautious as a result of the girl's eagerness. Eli looked positively terrified at the thought, and the predatory expression the brunette wore.

"Oh I'm sure there'll be plenty of pain to go around," she said in a low voice, almost a whisper, enjoying the way Eli's terror rose another notch as she did.

"Ok, what do you all have so far?" Sikowitz drew the class together as the end of the lesson approached.

The groups each elected a spokesperson who talked publically through their plans to date; Cat's scene (the boys insisted she explain it to the class) caused widespread mirth and bewilderment in equal measure among the class. Jade eagerly explained her idea (a clumsy girl who doesn't know her own strength and keeps "accidently" injuring her friends; Eli still looked to be experiencing mortal dread as her eyes shone throughout the pitch - and it was a feeling shared by several people in the class). Beck made a mental note to have a talk with his girlfriend after class about reigning in her idea.

The bell sounded and the students got up to leave. Sikowitz surprised them by setting them homework; they were to have a script written for the scene by next class on Wednesday. As they had music together Freddie and Jade were able to discuss and complain about this throughout their journey to the next class. Cat and Beck were also in the same class (English); the actor listened patiently as his bubbly friend pitched ideas for their script.

"You play, I'll sing," Jade suggested to Freddie as Anthony, their teacher, instructed them to get into pairs for the project they would be doing in class this term. As it was really more of a demand than a proposal he merely nodded his agreement – plus he thought the girl had a lovely singing voice so he was more than happy to hear her use it; it was just the idea of putting together a tune that bothered him.

"So how do you want to do it? Do you have words in mind that need a tune or are you waiting for a tune to fit words to it?"

"Well… we can work on the tune between us – and the lyrics – then split things up after."

The former Seattle native was more than happy with to go along with this and the pair got to work.

Lunch saw the tech producer having to attend a hastily called meeting of "The Slap"'s crew; he was disappointed at the fact that he would see neither his friends nor his girlfriend. He consoled himself a little with the thought that he would at least see Cat in Science after lunch, but his time with Lindsey would be limited to mostly mornings this week; in addition to his fencing classes on Tuesday evenings and his and André's gym session on a Thursday after school, he had to meet Eli and Jade to discuss their script and also do a little work with the gothic girl on their music assignment. Between all of these, and the news that his mother also wanted them to spend a little more mother/son time together on a night while she was working days, it meant that he wouldn't see too much of his blonde girl outside of school until her birthday meal on the Friday night.

In the immediate aftermath of their week apart at Spring Break this was not an appealing thought for either of the teenagers and it promised to make the ensuing week a frustrating one for them. They lunched together, along with the rest of his freshman friendship group on the days the gang wasn't playing ping pong, but they were definitely disappointed by the lack of quality time to spend together.

"Mom's working late on Saturday night," Freddie informed her over lunch on the Wednesday, "do you want to see a movie?"

"A movie sounds great," she enthused, happy to be making plans with him; after her thoughts over Spring Break and early on Monday, she was starting to feel more than a little pang of jealousy from the knowledge that he and Jade were working together both in music and in Sikowitz's class – and thus were spending a lot of time together outside of class on their projects. She knew Beck was in the picture, which partially allayed any of the fears that were threatening to manifest, but she did have to work hard to try and hide her nervous looks when she saw just how comfortable her boyfriend and the mean girl were looking together these days.

"How about you guys? Fancy hanging at the mall earlier in the afternoon on Saturday?" he invited his classmates. There was a general murmur of agreement and they arranged to meet around 3 o'clock on the Saturday afternoon. Lindsey bit her tongue gently; on the one hand she didn't want to keep him from his friends, on the other she wanted a little more alone-time with him.

The ninth graders arrived in Sikowitz's class, scripts in hand. Their teacher collected them in and dropped them on his desk at the back of the stage.

"Ok," he clapped his hands, "you've all got your scripts written, excellent – I hope you've made another copy because you'll be practicing today."

"I have," Freddie smiled; ever organised he had made them each an additional copy of their work.

"Score one for the nerd," Jade teased gently with a smile, raising her hand for a high five. He grinned back and the teens, along with Eli, managed a three-way high five before they got to work rehearsing her scene. Most of the other groups were at a loss, having made only the one copy that they gave to the teacher, so had to retrieve the script so that they could practice in class. Beck and André looked far from comfortable at the end of the lesson, having tried to write a script to make sense of Cat's scene, but the other trio were in far better spirits; they felt that they were well on track with their short production, and the boys were happy that Jade had yet to start slapping…

Jade and Freddie stayed behind after last period and returned to the music room. They were not alone in the room but they _were_ able to secure one of the sound-proof recording booths and use it to make some good progress with their music assignment. Freddie found himself entranced by the pale girl's voice as she demonstrated what she had been working on. Involuntarily he closed his eyes and allowed her soothing lyrics to wash over him; she grinned at the effect she had had.

"So, what did you think?" she asked, working hard to put the edge back into her voice.

His eyes snapped open as he finally became aware that she had stopped singing. "Jade, that was incredible!" he enthused with a huge smile. "The words were great, the tune was perfect for them; I'll figure out how to play it and that's definitely our chorus. We'll put together a tune for the verses, some lyrics – but we're definitely on a winner with that."

"I know," she smirked confidently. "Now come on, write some music for the verse."

He rolled his eyes as he smiled back at her before returning his attention to the keyboard in front of him.

* * *

Lindsey's sixteenth birthday began well for her with a celebratory breakfast; usually the blonde's father would leave for work before she got up but today he had arranged to go in a little later so that he could celebrate with her and she was happy that he had done so. The three ate together as she opened her cards and gifts from them and some of her other family members. So, despite having to be in school on her birthday, she was in high spirits when she got there (not that she expected much good news during the day – she didn't expect any of her sophomore peers, aside _maybe_ from Christine, would be eager to celebrate with her) and found Robbie and André sat near the Grub Truck.

"Morning guys," she greeted them brightly.

"Oh hey," the dreadlocked songsmith smiled at her while the curly-haired ventriloquist just nodded guardedly; he still remembered with some irritation her "critique" of him before Spring Break.

Nonetheless, "Happy birthday," he echoed André's wished for her, following his lead in handing her a card.

"Thanks," she expressed her gratitude to the younger kids for their cards and wishes. "Have you guys seen Freddie this morning?" She wondered if the boy was working on his music assignment with Jade again; the thought was not an appealing one for her.

"Uh yeah," the musician replied, gesturing towards the school as he did, "he said he had some stuff to do for the new school website before class today. I think he'll be in the computer room."

"Thanks," her voice carried the hint of relief that she could not repress and she tapped him gratefully on the shoulder, "I'll catch you guys later?" Without waiting for a response she sped off in search of her boyfriend.

The blonde heard her man before she saw him; he was having a surprisingly vocal disagreement with one of his colleagues from the team.

"What is your problem?" Freddie's voice was exasperated.

"My _problem_ is that I don't like being bossed around by some little boy who thinks he's God's gift to nerd-dom just because he used to work on a crappy little web show!" Lindsey's eyes widened at the verbal slap someone was giving her boyfriend. She quickened her pace to see what was going on and rounded the corner just as Freddie got to his feet to confront the older teen.

"If you don't like it then you should have _said_ something when the teams were decided," he was struggling to keep his cool.

"Whatever, I'm off to class," the other boy turned on his heel and stormed away, barely avoiding crashing headlong into the birthday girl as he passed her near the doorway. She saw Freddie sit back down and rest his head in his hands, sighing audibly as he did and she made her way towards him.

"Are you ok?" she asked in a soft voice.

He looked up, slightly surprised to see her. "Oh hey Lindsey, yeah I'm fine thanks, just a bit of a disagreement with one of the guys," he tried to shrug it off. "Anyway…" he reached into his bag and withdrew an envelope and a wrapped parcel, "Happy Birthday!" He stood up and gave his girl a quick birthday kiss along with her gifts.

"Ok, let's wrap it up for now!" he called to the others noting the time; the bell would be going in a few minutes and he would rather spend them with his girlfriend on her birthday. He offered his hand to Lindsey and she took it, leading him out of the computer room.

The birthday girl frowned slightly and briefly as the couple rounded the corner by their lockers and approached the main stairway; Cat and Jade were stood talking at the foot of the stairs and waved as they spotted them. Fortunately they were looking in Freddie's direction rather than hers so her dissatisfaction went unnoticed as she quickly replaced her grimace with a smile, one that became genuine as the fourteen-year-old girls turned to her and pressed cards into her hand along with voicing their birthday wishes. Cat went so far as to fling herself into a hug of the blonde which, as she still held Freddie's hand, was a rather awkward predicament for her. She patted the red-head's back awkwardly as the other freshmen shared a laugh and a quick glance.

"I recorded a couple of possible tunes for our song," he told the mean girl. "Do you have time over break or lunch to listen? Otherwise it's probably Sunday or Monday before we can do anymore."

"Break sounds good," Jade said, eyeing Lindsey's posture stiffening at the brown-haired tech producer's proposal.

"Aw, I was hoping we'd spend breaks together today," his girlfriend complained.

"I know," he said, trying to placate her, "but we've got this assignment due soon and I… we," he gestured to the pale girl, "really want to do well on it. That means we need to put the work in."

"I guess," she grumbled with a sigh.

"Tonight – I'm all yours," he promised.

She nodded in defeated resignation. "We'll pick you up at 7:30." They shared a quick kiss as the bell sounded then she released his hand and headed for her English class; the freshmen headed for Maths.

* * *

"Happy birthday sweetie," Lindsey's mother told her, again, over dinner; they had decided to take their daughter and her boyfriend to Maestro's to celebrate and the quartet were enjoying their meal immensely. She handed her an envelope; the blonde accepted it with a surprised look.

"Mom, you already gave me a card and a present this morning," she pointed out.

"Yeah but I think you'll like this one," her dad added with a knowing smile.

The birthday girl looked to her boyfriend; he shrugged at her but commented in a light tone, "Hey, you can never have too many birthday presents!"

The newly-turned sixteen-year-old laughed and turned to her parents with a grateful smile as she slit open the envelope. Her face exploded into a massive grin as she withdrew two tickets for the Northridge Prom in a couple of Saturday's time.

"You said you wanted to go to a prom – and that your school doesn't have one," her dad said simply.

"Oh this is amazing; thank you, I love you both," she exclaimed excitedly and leapt from her seat to slip in between her parents and wrap an arm around both.

She turned to Freddie and showed him the tickets. "I really want to go, and I want to go with _you_." Her mother smiled at him, hearing again how much her daughter must like the brown-haired tech producer, though her father's expression was far less readable – possibly for the same reason. "You will go with me, won't you?" Her voice held a slight edge of desperation and fear that he could possibly derail her dreams.

He glanced at the date (not that it mattered; he would have rearranged whatever he had to in order to be able to attend). "I would be honoured to be your date for Prom," he said sincerely, causing her to squeal in delight, drawing funny looks from neighbouring tables. She ignored the looks and raced back over to his seat so that she could hug him. Forgetting for a moment that they weren't alone she also planted a tender kiss on his lips, a kiss that was only curtailed by her father meaningfully clearing his throat across the table from the teenage couple. They parted with identical guilty and embarrassed looks. The blonde slipped back into her seat and asked casually,

"So, who wants dessert?"

The blonde's high spirits were still evident by the following afternoon when she and Freddie joined the freshman gathering at the Green Meadow mall food court; they arrived there just before three, only to see that the others were already there waiting.

"Oh, someone's happy!" Beck's tone was light and jovial; the long-haired actor had his arm wrapped around his girlfriend; she sat there sipping a Jet Brew coffee and wearing an even expression. "Did you have a good birthday meal then?" he asked the sixteen-year-old girl.

"I had an _awesome_ time… with an awesome guy," she tugged Freddie's hand and the couple shared a smile, "_and_ my parents had one last present for me that they gave me over dinner."

"What was it?" André asked curiously.

"Tickets for the Northridge Prom," she declared gleefully.

"Oh I _love_ proms!" Cat piped up brightly, oblivious to Jade's scowl and eye-roll at the turn this conversation was taking. "I wish someone would invite _me_ to one." Her eyes saddened as she realised that the likelihood was low that she'd get an invite, not now that she and Jake, aka "smoothie-guy", had broken up; that he had set it in motion via text had given Jade the desire to hunt him down and injure him. She was still toying with exactly how to do just that.

"Nah, forget it," Rex piped up in response to Robbie's brightening expression. His handler's face fell again in disappointment, particularly as the red-haired girl remained completely oblivious to what "they" were talking about.

Jade, having emptied her coffee cup and deciding she was in need of another, leant on her boyfriend's shoulder and spoke softly in his ear.

"Proms are _stupid_, don't even think about it…" she warned him before releasing his arm and standing.

"Wasn't gonna," he muttered as he held his hands up defensively but his eyes narrowed as his gaze followed his girlfriend as she walked briefly away from the table.

"You want another smoothie Cat?" Freddie asked, seeing that the girl's cup was empty. She giggled her acceptance and he turned to Lindsey, raising an eyebrow to ask her the same question. She nodded with a smile and the tech producer headed to the smoothie counter to buy three more drinks. She frowned behind his back, pondering on the significance of him asking Cat before her.

He returned shortly before Jade did; the gothic girl had to head a little further across the Food Court and wait impatiently in line at the Jet Brew stand before getting her beverage so her already fragile mood took a turn for the worse as she returned. Listening to Lindsey and Cat talking eagerly about proms caused her to begin shooting dark looks across the table at the pair. She caught Freddie grinning at her response; she rolled her eyes and, in spite of herself, she smiled softly along with the boy.

After a few hours at the mall the group began to break up. Lindsey and Freddie decided on a movie (Lindsey decided, as it was part of her 'birthday treat' as Freddie dubbed it), while Beck and Jade decided they would _also_ catch a movie while they were there, albeit a different one. Rather awkwardly Eli offered to walk Cat home; she accepted and the pair managed to hold a friendly conversation during the journey, though the sandy-blond was rather relieved when he reached the Valentine home and wished her goodnight. Robbie, meanwhile, got a ride home with his mother when she came to collect him.

"Who texted?" Jade asked as Freddie's phone alert went; the two couples were sat together in the concessions area of the cinema while they waited for their respective showings to begin.

"Oh, just Sam," he answered, meeting her eyes and smiling softly. "She's complaining about her mom again." He chuckled as he re-read the message.

"She's out of juvie then?" Lindsey asked. "You were only there last week."

"Oh, yeah," he said, "they let her out last Friday so it's been just over a week now."

"Maybe I'll get to meet the legendary Sam over the summer," she commented.

"Hopefully, it would be good if she could get down here for a few days."

That wasn't exactly the response the blonde was looking for; she hid her expression behind a swig from her soda but couldn't hide her stiffening body language from the observant brunette sat opposite. She raised an eyebrow and made a mental note that the blonde wasn't quite so cool and relaxed as she liked people to think. The mean girl wasn't sure _why_; there was no guy on the planet, in her opinion, less likely to cheat on her than Freddie was (well, maybe Beck, she grinned internally) but the thought that all was not well with her gave a kernel of hope that one day he could make Cat happy again.

Shortly after eleven the couple left the mall; Lindsey hailed a cab rather than walking home at that time and the two arrived at her home around eleven-fifteen.

"A shame we can't get into school tonight," she joked. Then, in response to her boyfriend's curious expression she elaborated, "there'd be a nice symmetry to having our hundred day kiss by the lockers where had our first."

"Our first _as a couple_," he reminded her.

"Oh yeah, we'd need to sneak to directing class again wouldn't we?" she grinned mischievously. "We'll have to settle for somewhere inside where we can find a moment of privacy," she gestured to her front door before unlocking it and letting them in.

"Hi sweetie, hello Freddie," her father greeted them, him rather formally.

"Hey dad, I didn't think you'd still be up."

"Oh we just wanted to wait for you to get in," her mother contributed.

"Will you need a ride home Freddie?"

"No sir, it's only a ten minute walk, I'll be fine."

"Yeah dad, are you trying to get rid of him already."

"Well it is getting late…"

The blonde groaned, causing her boyfriend to have to suppress a snigger. _Still not as bad as _my_ mom_, he thought.

"Come on dear, we're embarrassing our daughter," her mother laughed and the two disappeared upstairs.

"Not funny," she told her grinning boyfriend.

"Of course not," he replied, trying and failing miserably to keep the smile off his face.

The two hung out for a while, listening to some music (quietly) on the stereo, watching a little TV and sharing a few more details about their respective Semester Breaks that they hadn't gotten around to mentioning. Finally a beep on the blonde's phone attracted her attention; she drew it from her jeans and checked the display.

"One minute to midnight," she whispered. She stood up and took Freddie's hand, urging him to stand as well. She then surprised him by releasing his hand; the blonde walked over to the wall, dimmed the lights and returned to stand in front of him. "Happy hundredish days," she whispered with a nervous smile.

"Hundredish days, I like that," he grinned before they leaned in for a tender kiss.

Their lips parted and instantly the ringtone of Freddie's phone began to play.

"Mom," he groaned, checking the caller ID. "She must be home and seeing that I'm not… Hey mom," he answered, listening for a couple of seconds before continuing, "no, no, I'm just at Lindsey's… ok, I'll leave in a minute and be home in about fifteen. No, I don't need a ride… Yes, I'll see you then." He rang off and sighed. "As you can tell, I have to go."

The sixteen-year-old nodded reluctantly. "I'll see you on Monday. Good night Freddie."

"Good night Linds."

* * *

"I wish someone would ask _me_ to the prom," Cat said mournfully for the tenth time that Monday. The little red-haired girl's spirits had been sinking steadily lower since Lindsey's news had put the thought in her head over the weekend; she really wanted to go to a prom – and she really wanted a _date_ for a prom. Since her short-lived relationships with Eli and Jake had ended things looked like they would be quiet on that front for her. Again she found herself having to bury her regrets and wishing that she had got to the Seattle-born teen before Lindsey had back in January.

"Cat, if you don't stop saying that then I will _gag_ you," Jade threatened. The brunette was becoming increasingly irritated with her friend's complaints. Cat squeaked a little but lapsed into silence while Beck shook his head. "What?" she challenged him as she turned to face him. "No, come on, _what_?" she repeated when he didn't answer, squeezing his hand a little tighter than was necessary.

"Do you _have_ to talk to your best friend like that?" he shot at her, "Why can't you just be nice to her."

"I was just – " she began before he cut her off.

"Apologise to her," he demanded. They glared at one another for a few seconds before she relented with a sigh.

"Fine; I won't gag you Cat but can you _please_ stop going on about the stupid prom?"

Beck looked little happier at this form of moderation, but opted not to say anything else for now. Freddie stole a curious glance at the pair and furrowed his brow at their interplay; something in the long-haired actor's attitude towards his girlfriend didn't sit well with him. Feeling it wasn't his place to comment on their public spat, or their relationship, the fifteen-year-old kept his counsel and carried on walking with his friends towards Sikowitz's room, his mild disappointment with his timetable displacing concerns over his friends' relationship in his thoughts.

The tech producer had compared his schedule to that of his girlfriend after the school returned from Spring Break; both were frustrated to find that they wouldn't share any of their creative classes for the rest of the semester, something that would limit the time they could spend together this term. They would have to content themselves with getting together at break or lunch time (something, Freddie noted grimly, would displease his red-haired friend if it meant _they_ weren't hanging together) and after school.

"Rehearsal!" the balding teacher declared excitedly as the students gathered in his class. "You've planned your scenes, you've written your scripts and you've run through them a little in class – now it's time for a proper rehearsal. You have this lesson to do so before your scenes are performed to the class in the Black Box theatre on Wednesday."

"Slapping time," whispered Jade a little too gleefully as she cracked her knuckles, earning her another reproachful look from Beck, which she chose to ignore and a panicked one from Eli, which she chose to grin at.

"You're not scared?" the sandy-blond muttered to Freddie as they went to the corner of the room they had claimed for their own during the last week or so of planning the scene.

"No," he shrugged casually. "Jade's a little mean but she's not intentionally vicious; it'll all be good," he tried to reassure his friend, and failed miserably. "Besides," he smirked as he recalled a memory from the previous year, "Sam pushed me off a ladder once, so it takes _a lot_ to hurt me."

On the other side of the classroom Cat was struggling to keep a straight face as she, André and Beck went through their script. Matters were further impeded by the Canadian-born continually casting concerned glances towards his girlfriend's group as he feared her getting out of control during the rehearsals. His songsmith friend was growing increasingly annoyed with the pair of them as their valuable rehearsal time slipped by.

"Beck!" he snapped eventually. The long-haired teen turned towards him, surprised at his sharp tone. "Everything is good over there; can we PLEASE focus on our own scene?" He also directed a glare at the red velvet-haired girl; she bowed her head a little and promised to try harder, Beck just frowned and turned his attention back to their script.

"Ok, so we've got the whole thing down," Cat recapped as Sikowitz time-checked the class; they had five minutes of rehearsal time left; the girl was doing her best to make it up to André for her lack of focus earlier. "We just need to get our timings finished; maybe we should practice after school somewhere?" she suggested.

"It'd have to be tonight," the musician noted, "we have fencing tomorrow night."

"I can make tonight," the Canadian actor shrugged and the plan was set, much to Jade's annoyance when she found out, as she had wanted to make her own plans with her boyfriend.

"Have you two made plans for tonight?" she asked the former iCarly by the Grub Truck at lunch, after learning that Beck would be otherwise engaged.

"We haven't arranged anything," he commented, casting a casual look to his girlfriend, who was stood next to them; she shook her head in response.

"I have some work I need to be doing tonight for some of my classes and on a couple of the productions I have to do this semester," the blonde explained.

"Want to do a bit more on our song then?"

"Sure."

Lindsey bit her lip; Freddie spending even more time with Jade was the last thing she wanted to think about right now – even more so than with Cat. However she couldn't come up with a good reason to object, plus she really did have some homework to do and things to rehearse, so she simply pushed her growing unease to one side and followed her boyfriend to their usual table in the Asphalt Café.

"So where do you want to work tonight?" Freddie asked the dark-brunette as they sat ready to enjoy their lunch. "Usual place?"

"I'm kinda sick of the music room; my mom will still be at work when we finish so how about my place?" she suggested.

"Works for me," he said, "my mom will be home so the chances are we'd struggle to get any peace and quiet."

Jade laughed; from the limited dealings she had had with the Benson matriarch she could appreciate her friend's sentiments. Lindsey, meanwhile, sipped her drink as she tried to stop her darkening mood from affecting her expression. She turned to her boyfriend and raised her eyebrows slightly as she took in something from his appearance that she had missed earlier.

"Your cheek seems a little red," she commented, touching it gently with the tips of the fingers of her right hand.

"Oh, we're doing comedy in Sikowitz's class," he laughed, "and we…" he shot a telling glance at the mean girl, "decided on slapstick for our production. Can't have slapstick without a few slaps," he shrugged. "Eli gets it worse than me," he gestured to the blond boy and his own rather stinging flesh with a grin.

"And you're both ok with that?" the blonde asked, slightly surprised at his news.

"It doesn't hurt," he dismissed her concerns with another shrug, "and we get our own back at the end." He directed the last comment, and a grin, to Jade, whose own expression plainly said _bring it on_. Again the looks they were sharing were of concern to the blonde; she took another casual bite of her lunch in an attempt to hide her feelings and worries.

"I've been thinking about it… maybe we could just get a sound effect to play?" Eli suggested. "Y'know, have the person doing the slapping," he shot a nervous look at the brunette girl, "maybe have their back to the audience, swing and miss but play a sound so it appears that they were hit?"

The other two group members looked to one another again; Freddie shrugged. "We could ask Sikowitz," he conceded, "but we don't have all that long to get it done before Wednesday, we can't practice tomorrow night because I'm busy," he gestured to the actors opposite who he would be at the fencing studio with, "and we haven't done any… stage fighting, is it called?" He addressed the last part to his girlfriend, who nodded.

"Yes, that's the term – we did a short course in it a few weeks ago so it's something you'll do next year."

"So it would be tricky to make it look real in such a short space of time," he concluded.

"Just face it," Jade laughed, smirking at her sandy-blond friend, "you're getting slapped boy."

Eli's face fell and he returned his gaze to his meal; Beck wore an imperceptible mask as he pondered on how best to comment on his girlfriend's actions.

"Well, I need to get to class," Lindsey sighed as she checked the time on her phone, "See you after school before you go?"

"Sure," her boyfriend agreed and they parted with a quick kiss. "We've got Science next – better get going," he commented to Cat and Beck. The red-head nodded and stood up, the actor remained seated.

"I'll catch you up," he informed them. Freddie shrugged slightly and he and Cat set off together. Eli decided, from the meaningful glance Beck shot him, that he, Robbie and André also needed to depart, leaving just the young couple together at the table. Beck placed a restraining hand on Jade's arm as she attempted to get up, turned to her and took a steadying breath.

"Everything ok," Freddie asked as the Canadian-born joined them in class a few minutes later; the teacher had just arrived and the students were settling into their places.

"Yes," he replied, a little tersely, "I just needed to speak to my girlfriend about something privately."

The Seattleite nodded; clearly the topic was not for public discussion at his time so he dropped it and turned his attention to withdrawing the books and stationery he would need for the lesson from his bag. Cat looked from one boy to the other with a confused expression; the red-head felt that she was missing something here but put it to one side, she needed all her focus on the subject at hand as it was one of her weaker ones.

"Freddie," she asked him in a low voice midway through the lesson, "do you think you could help me out sometime with this – I just don't get it."

He cast her a sympathetic look. "I'll try," he promised, "I don't know _when_ just now, with our plays, the music project Jade and I have, my other work, _your_ other work, spending time with Lindsey, but I'll see what I can do." Then, seeing the sorrowful and almost fearful look in the girl's eyes he leaned towards her. "For now…" and he began to talk through how she should answer each question as they worked. The little red-head really didn't follow the explanations but was at least able to complete the exercise. She left the classroom at the end still concerned about how well she would cope with the subject.

* * *

Freddie met up with Jade at the end of the school day and they made their way together to her home. It was the first time the tech producer had been there and he was impressed with the building and neighbourhood.

"Alimony cheques," she shrugged in answer to his unasked question, for he knew her parents, like his own, were divorced.

Jade let them into the house and led the way to the den; she had some basic recording and musical equipment there, including an old but serviceable keyboard.

"It's not as fancy as the stuff at school but it will do for us to get a little more work done," she commented with a hint of bashfulness in her voice; even as a girl who exuded supreme confidence she was awaiting the judgement of another at this time, about her home and belongings, and it gave her a slight nervousness to do so.

"It looks great. I love the equipment you've got here, some of this is pretty high end." The immigrant Angeleno's attention was focussed more on the recording stuff, to which he could relate, than to the instruments but he sounded suitably impressed to allay the girl's nerves.

With confidence restored she was able to put her mask back in place in an instant. "Ok, well we don't have all night, let's write something!"

He nodded with a grin that told her he wasn't fooled by the change in demeanour. She returned it as he settled behind the keyboard and she slipped the headphones on, closing her eyes as he replayed what they had so far, improvising here and there where it had occurred to him that there was room for improvement.

"Whoa, stop it," she blurted out all of a sudden. He gave her a quizzical look and she amended, "What you just played there – that was _perfect_." She quietly sang the line they had already, _I could give my heart to you now_, before fitting it to the new tune, _I could give my heart away to you now_. "How's that?" she asked.

"I think it works better," he agreed, making a few scribbled notes in his book and hooking up his pearphone to record the new tune and line as she sang it again.

An hour or so later the two tired teens heard Mrs West return from work.

"In here mom," Jade called out and the West matriarch followed the voice to the den.

"Hi sweetie, oh – hello… Freddie?" she guessed as she addressed her daughter's friend.

"Yes, hello Mrs West," he greeted her with a smile.

"Freddie and I are working on our song," her daughter explained, gesturing to the equipment they were using, "I think it's going great at the moment."

"That's good to hear; will you be staying for dinner Freddie?"

"Uh no, that's ok thank you," he replied politely, "my mom is expecting me home – actually she probably thought I'd be there by now." He glanced at his phone, surprised by the lack of missed calls or texts from his mother. "Do you think we'll get much more done tonight?" he asked his partner.

"Probably not, I think my brain's frazzled by it for tonight," she admitted.

"Me too," he laughed. "I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight Mrs West," he gathered up his belongings and Jade walked him out with a promise to pick up on their assignment during their music class the next day.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Merry Christmas once again and I hope you all come back next week, on New Year's Day, for the next chapter.**


	22. Chapter 21

**AN: Happy New Year to you all; may it bring you everything that you hope for. Welcome to the next chapter of this story, I do hope you enjoy it – some of you will and I suspect some won't…**

**My thanks as always go to those who took the time and trouble to read and, especially, review last time so EnchantingNightmares (there'll be a little more Freddie/Jade friendship here but maybe check out my new "Kindred Spirits" story in the iCarly/Victorious cross-over section as that's more of a Freddie/Jade one), Challenge King, Subject87, LittleMissMusical, Mistyflower68 and Agent-M – thank you all. I think I replied personally to the reviews with any specific points so I'll just move on to the story.**

**A reminder about the "Rating T" for this story; there'll be some slightly more mature themes in this chapter. You have been warned. **

* * *

The week leading up to the prom had engendered dramatically differing emotions in Lindsey and Cat; the blonde was quivering in anticipation of a great night with her boyfriend, while the red-head grew more and more disappointed about the fact that she wouldn't be able to attend such an event this year.

The sophomore was still feeling concerned over the large part that Jade was playing in her boy's life at the moment; she had snuck off early from her own class in order to watch their scene for Sikowitz's acting class; it had been good and she knew that they would be awarded a good grade on it, but of more concern to the blonde was what had happened after it had ended; the two teens had started a celebratory hug, before Eli joined in to turn it into a group one (she mused that maybe in part it was to show no ill feeling between the trio after the performance), and she felt her new-found jealousy flare another notch. That the two were still working together in music, and in fact they were increasing the hours and evenings they spent in one another's company as they strived to complete their song, and get it perfect, ahead of the deadline for its submission, only served to increase her anxieties. It was slightly disconcerting to her that Freddie seemed to think so little of the fact that the two spent so much time in each other's company. The tech producer was happy to call the gothic girl his friend and to talk about them working well together in class. He did try to reassure her and allay her concerns by insisting that he already had a girlfriend who he was very happy with, but he was far from 100% successful in convincing her. _Whatever's going on there between them,_ she thought determinedly, _this weekend, he's all mine_.

The summer term had seen an increase in the number of projects and the general workload for the freshman as they continued to settle into, and adapt to, life at their new school. André had a recital that he was eager to get Jade and Cat to sing with him for (it would give credit for both girls so they were even happier to help; they would have been happy enough anyway but the extra incentive was nice; the performance wasn't until the end of term so they would have plenty of time to work on it over the next month or so). Beck, meanwhile, was writing a one-act play for one of his classes; requiring a second character he had asked Robbie to co-star with him (as André and the girls were working together) and Freddie to do the technical and stage management for it, something that would give the former iCarly tech producer some additional credit of his own on top of what he had earned for the Big Showcase the previous term.

Away from the performing side of their education, meanwhile, Cat was having a difficult time of things; even aside from the Prom and the associated disappointments (particularly having to hear Lindsey talk about it on a daily basis before school and over lunch, something that had long since started to infuriate Jade) she was struggling badly in both Maths and Science at the moment and in serious need of some help. Freddie had promised that he would help her, but she knew that his time was already limited from working on The Slap and having to fit in work with Jade on their music assignment.

Nonetheless things came to a head for the red velvet-haired girl on Wednesday; the usually bubbly teen felt she was falling so far behind after the latest Science class that morning that she appeared on the brink of a break-down as they left for lunch; she was certainly on the verge of tears as her panic-induced rant escalated.

"Ok," Freddie began calmly as he gripped her shoulders gently but firmly, "Cat!" His sharp call urged her to settle enough to meet his gaze. "Take a breath. We'll go get something from the Grub Truck then head to the library and start going through the basics."

"Thank you," she whispered gratefully, already feeling a little calmer from his words, presence and warm, confident smile.

As Beck felt he was doing well enough in the class – too well to really benefit from working with them but not well enough to be able to help her – he spent lunch with the rest of the group; Lindsey was disappointed by the news that her boy would not be joining them. She tried to hide it but found herself meeting Jade's challenging look more than once over the course of their lunch hour. When Beck noticed the burgeoning stare off, his reaction was immediate.

"Stop it," he chided his girlfriend in a low murmur. She looked at him, surprised that he seemed to be trying to… _discipline_ her seemed to be the best word she could find for his attitude. She dropped her gaze to her lunch and the table and said nothing more. The tenth grade girl filed the curious interaction between the couple away in a corner of her mind and continued with her own meal.

In the school library Freddie and Cat had no difficulty in finding a free table; it was lunchtime on a glorious early May day and the rest of the students were taking full advantage of the weather.

The brown-eyed boy ordered his notes and set the key ones in front of the red-haired girl. He sat close to her (something she enjoyed immensely, so much so that it threatened to distract her) and began to try to explain the basics of the topic they had been covering and establish exactly where she was getting lost with it. Having found the bit that she didn't understand he went over it a couple of times, thinking of different ways that he could explain the same concepts and hoping to find one that she could understand better. Eventually he was successful and the girl was able to work through some of the examples they had covered in class and appreciating how they got to the answers they did. By the end of their session she was even able to do one of the questions from the book on her own, finishing it just before the bell sounded.

"That was great, Cat," the Seattle-born enthused as they packed up their things, "I think you've really got it now!" He slipped his arm around her and gave her a quick squeezing hug before letting go; despite the innocence of the friendly gesture he felt some of his old feelings from earlier in the year start to churn up again. He closed his eyes and pictured his blonde girlfriend, trying to drive any confusion – or feelings of guilt – from his mind. Cat, meanwhile, smiled and hugged his arm with hers.

"Thanks to you, Freddie, you really helped me to understand it; I think I'll be ok with that now… I'm still a little unsure of the things I've been doing in Maths though."

"This week's going to be busy," he said with a little regret as they walked out of the library and headed down the main staircase towards their lockers, "what with a meeting for The Slap, the song Jade and I have to perform on Friday afternoon, all our other homework – and of course this weekend's going to be a bit of a write-off," she lowered her head as his words reminded again about the Prom, "but _hopefully_ next week we'll have some time to work on that, or if it's urgent then you could ask someone else if they can help you study?"

She nodded sadly; she enjoyed studying with Freddie and spending time with him, but realised that he had his list of priorities and that she couldn't expect to automatically leap to the top of it, not with his own workload and Lindsey to consider.

"I could ask André, or maybe one of the other people from my class, but if they can't then maybe next week?" she asked with a hint of hope in her voice.

"Sure," he agreed with a smile. She smiled at him and clapped happily.

The afternoon saw them in Sikowitz's class; the balding teacher had them moving on to a little more improv work after their recent successes with comedic acting. Although the ever-oblivious Cat missed it, Freddie picked up immediately on an underlying tension between Beck and Jade. Despite the long-haired actor's recent insistence that everything was "fine" for the couple, the tech genius was far from convinced that this was actually the case.

He would have his chance to voice his concerns during music, while he and Jade put the finishing touches to their song.

"Is everything ok?" he asked her cautiously. "Between you and Beck I mean," he clarified as she fixed him with her best stare. Undaunted he persisted, "The two of you just seemed a little… off when you arrived at Sikowitz's class and things seemed rather tense last week when Beck was in our Science class after he hung back on us."

"There's nothing to worry about," she replied with a dismissive shrug. "We need to finish our project." With that she walked off to claim one of the booths so that they could work in peace. He stared after her for a second, deliberating whether to pursue the matter further, before deciding to drop it and instead following her to the room.

The freshman pair managed to finish their song during the class, much to their mutual relief as the performances were taking place on Friday afternoon after school. They would at least have a couple of days to ensure that they were word and note perfect.

Lindsey surprised her boyfriend by waiting for him outside the music room. He said a quick goodbye to Jade, arranging to get together for a quick rehearsal the next morning, before she went in search of Beck and the couple left school together.

"Freddie," she began, "is everything alright between Beck and Jade?"

He looked at her, slightly surprised at the observation and she elaborated, "I mean… I was at lunch with them today, while you were tutoring Cat in Science, and things just didn't seem quite right there somehow."

"What happened?" his curiosity was piqued, given his own observations from earlier in the day.

"Well Jade and I had… not exactly a disagreement but a bit of a silent exchange." At his look she amended, "Ok it _might_ have started to turn into a staring match. Look, I know you and Cat are friends but… the two of you dated so I'm not going to pretend that I love the idea of you two being alone together on a lunchtime."

"You don't have to be jealous," he argued, "there's nothing other than friendship between me and Cat these days. I'm with _you_, I _want_ to be with you and I'm _happy_ with you. Ok?" he insisted.

"I know, it's just…" she shrugged, "I can't help it I guess."

He gave her a sympathetic nod and prompted, "So you had this staring contest?"

"Right, and then Beck whispered something to Jade and she dropped it, though she still didn't look happy."

"I've been wondering about the way he acts around her myself," Freddie admitted, "I asked her if things were ok and she said they were so I guess I have to take her word for it." The blonde nodded along.

"Anyway," she asked, changing the subject, "what do you want to do this afternoon?"

"Movie at the mall?" he suggested.

"Movie at the mall," she agreed.

* * *

"You ready?" Freddie asked Jade, nervousness permeating through his voice. They had worked so hard on their song and it was worth a large portion of their grade for the semester in the music class so he wanted it to be perfect; he also knew just how good a singer his gothic friend was and he was desperate not to mess it up for her.

"Oh I'm ready," the girl in contrast exuded bravado, and none of it false; she believed in her own ability and trusted in her friend's. They had rehearsed endlessly and she felt they had it pretty much perfect by now. That she looked stunning in a shin-length midnight blue dress with matching streaked hair extensions added to her overall appearance of absolute confidence.

"And now," announced their teacher to the small audience in the Black Box theatre; it was mostly friends and family of the performers – both Jade and Freddie's mothers were there, as were Lindsey and the other members of the duo's group of freshman friends, "Please give a big Hollywood Arts welcome to Jade West and Freddie Benson."

There was an encouraging cheer from the knot of friends and some enthusiastic applause from Marissa, along with the polite clapping of the other audience members. The two teens made their way to the stage; Freddie took a seat behind the keyboard while Jade made a final adjustment to her microphone headset. They exchanged one last glance and nod before Freddie turned to the sheet music in front of him and began to strike up the introduction to their piece. His partner put on a huge smile as she felt the adrenaline wash over her and, perfectly in time to the music, began to sing…

The song was a huge success and had the audience on their feet cheering and applauding the duo. The singer's smile was one of elation mingled with a hint of relief, her partner's one of just relief that he hadn't messed things up for her. The dark-brunette motioned to him and he stood, walked around the keyboard and joined her in the middle of the stage where they took a bow before she pulled him in to a friendly embrace. Lindsey's clapping slowed at the sight and she shot a sidelong glance at Beck, stood a few placed along from her; he was continuing to applaud and didn't appear concerned about the sight of his friend and girlfriend hugging on stage. The blonde tried to swallow down her own, newly intensified feelings of jealousy and instead smiled as she forced her thoughts on to how well the two had done with the performance.

"That was great," she told him as everyone began leaving after the last pair had performed; Freddie and Jade had changed back into more casual clothes and were ready to go. Marissa hovered near her son's shoulder and cast nervous glances between her son and his girlfriend, along with one towards Beck and Jade; the singer was receiving a congratulatory kiss from the Canadian-born. Seeing the two kiss made it easier for Lindsey to suppress her concerns as it looked like things were pretty good for the freshman couple again. She turned her gaze back to her boyfriend's increasingly impatient-looking mother. "I'll see you tomorrow night?"

"Definitely, I'll be at yours around six and we'll head off seven-thirty?"

She nodded, kissed him (to Mrs Benson's chagrin) and left the theatre, offering a quick word of congratulation to Jade as she did. The gothic girl accepted it with a cautious smile before turning her attention back to Beck.

* * *

The fifteen-year-old arrived at his girlfriend's house shortly before six; his mother had given him a ride on her way to work (she wasn't too happy that he and Lindsey were going to the Prom but knew how important it was to her son's girlfriend). He got out of the car, listening once again to her cautions about avoiding any alcohol that may be there, drinking plenty of water, eating only the healthier foods available. The brown-haired teen tuned out midway down the list and, once he realised Marissa had stopped talking, said goodbye to his mother and headed up the driveway.

His girlfriend answered the door with a smile and a kiss; the house was otherwise empty as her parents had booked a weekend vacation before getting their daughter the Prom tickets and realising it was that same weekend. "Well look at you all dressed up!" she teased lightly, for Freddie was already dressed in his tuxedo for the night. The blonde, in contrast, was still in jeans and a T-shirt. "Have a seat," she motioned to the couch, "or get something to drink," she gestured to the kitchen, "I gotta start getting ready."

With that she dashed upstairs while he toured the first floor, selecting a bottle of punch from the fridge and settling down in front of the television. He expected that it would take her around half-an-hour to be ready so he was surprised when she was still bustling unseen upstairs as seven o'clock, seven-fifteen and seven-thirty came around. Their transport arrived and there was still no sign of the girl.

"Linds, the limo's here," he called with a little impatience, wondering why on earth it was taking the girl so long to get ready. Her appearance a few moments later answered that question, as well as convincing him that she was well worth the wait.

Freddie gaped in awe as his girlfriend descended the stairs. She was wearing a dress that was silver in colour and hung beautifully on her slender frame, along with matching high-heeled shoes and a gold coloured bag. Her blonde hair hung over her shoulders and she smiled slightly nervously until she caught his appraisal of her; at that point her smile became more confident instantaneously.

"Was I worth waiting for?" she grinned.

"More than worth it," he breathed softly.

"Ready to go, handsome?" she asked with a smile, trying to snap him out of his near-trance. He nodded eagerly and extended his arm to her. She took it and they left the house, locking it behind them and heading for the car.

* * *

The event was getting started as the hired car arrived at Marvimon. The teenagers exited their vehicle and, arm-in-arm, made their way inside. The blonde retrieved their tickets from her gold bag and presented them at the entrance, granting them admission.

The couple surveyed the scene as they walked around the venue; the dining area was laid out and ready, they checked the seating plan and identified their table and places (name cards were set out so they knew exactly where they would be) before heading to the bar. Freddie bought them a couple of sodas and they looked around the dance floor area trying to find some empty seats. The blonde spied a couple of empty chairs around a table and recognised a handful of the Hollywood Arts juniors and seniors who were also attending the event (in the absence of a Prom of their own to go to). She smiled slightly at the thought that the attendees from their school were all gravitating to the same spot, while the Northridge students sat together elsewhere and wondered whether any real mingling between the different schools would actually take place over the night.

Eager to dance she encouraged her boy onto the dance floor and they shared the first of many dances that evening. Very much the youngest there, Freddie was reluctant to ask any other girls, preferring to sit on the sidelines when Lindsey mixed with some of the others, something that wasn't lost on the blonde. She didn't let it stop her from having a good time, instead she opted to spend as much time as she could on the dancefloor, albeit she felt a pang of guilt when she saw her boyfriend looking on from their table.

"You could ask one of the girls," she told him. "What's the worst that can happen? They say no?"

"Or they dump a drink on my head."

"They won't," she giggled at his nervousness, "any girl would be lucky to score a dance with you."

He smiled and disappeared into the throng in an attempt to put their theories to the test, surprised to find that she was, in fact, correct. While some of the older girls shot him a look of complete disdain when he asked, others were happy to share a dance with the brown-haired teen so it was a far happier Freddie who returned to the table, looking slightly flushed and breathing a little more heavily, half-an-hour later.

"Having a good time then?" his girlfriend asked with a slight smirk. "Come on," she urged in response to his nod. "One more dance before dinner."

They shared the dance before the announcement that dinner was served and made their way to their assigned places. The blonde noted when they sat that they were, in fact, on a table without any other Hollywood Arts students so there would be _some_ mingling at least.

Dinner was a pleasant affair for the teenagers; they were able to talk civilly to their neighbours and enjoy the meal that was provided (Freddie opted for beef, Lindsey for chicken) before returning to the dancing area with fresh drinks. This time, while he made a conscious effort to spend time with his own date, Freddie asked plenty of other girls for dances; the blonde soon found herself feeling that she rued her decision to encourage him to do so.

"Can I walk you to your car?" Freddie asked as the prom eventually began to wind down and they had shared a very pleasant slow-dance. He offered his arm to his blonde girlfriend.

"You can indeed," Lindsey smiled at him and accepted the arm, looping her own around it. The young couple made their way to the fleet of limousines and found the one that the blonde's parents had pitched in to hire for them (they were sharing it with a few of the Hollywood Arts juniors and seniors who were also in attendance) for the evening. They cuddled in the back, as did the other couples, while the driver made the short journey across town to the Hollywood Hills region of the city. The couples departed one by one before the car finally arrived at Lindsey's home. They thanked and tipped their driver on arrival and he left as the blonde led her boy inside her deserted house. She kicked off her high-heeled shoes, wincing and regretting the choice of footwear, however much Freddie had enjoyed her equalising their heights for the evening. She groaned her discomfort.

"You ok?" Freddie asked in immediate concern as he moved swiftly to her side having finished removing his own shoes and hanging his tuxedo jacket up by the door.

"Yeah, just suffering from my footwear; you guys don't know how lucky you are," she smiled reassuredly at him.

The blonde crossed over to the stereo system and hunted through their CD collection searching for some romantic tunes. She hit upon a likely candidate and slipped it into the machine.

"Another dance?" she asked suggestively, holding out her hand to the brown-haired boy. He accepted and joined her in the living room. They slow-danced to the gentle melody and kissed at the song's conclusion.

"Now sit, I'll be back in a minute," she whispered; her eyes were shimmering with peace and happiness now that she had the boy all to herself.

He complied and took a pew on the loveseat on the far side wall of their living room while she bustled into the kitchen. The girl reached up to the cupboard, momentarily thinking she should have kept her high heels on a little longer as she scrabbled for a couple of glasses but she was able to retrieve them without incident. Her next destination was the fridge, from which she withdrew a bottle of white wine she had put in that afternoon (having 'liberated' it from her parents' store).

The blonde carried the glasses and bottle through to the living room and set them down on the coffee table. She poured a generous helping for Freddie and some for herself. He looked uncertainly at her as she toasted their night by touching glasses.

"Just try it," she whispered with a smile.

He gave her a trusting look and took a sip of the sweet liquid, savouring it before swallowing.

"It's good," he smiled and nodded before he took a second, larger draught. She suppressed her smile by taking a sip of her own before refilling his already half-empty glass.

Lindsey set her glass down and walked over to the stereo again; she chose a different song and turned so that she stood in front of it but facing her boy. She looked in his eyes as she began to sing, her beautiful voice had a near hypnotic effect on him as he stared, watching her dance a little as she sang.

Finally she reached the end of her song, much to Freddie's disappointment, and rejoined him on the couch. She slid onto his knee and wrapped her arms around him.

"That was incredible," he whispered in an almost reverential tone, "your voice is beautiful Lindsey."

"Just my voice?" she teased as she leaned in towards him.

It wasn't taking long for the alcohol to have its effect on the fifteen-year-old. Lindsey could see his inhibitions beginning to crumble as their kisses began to become a little more exploratory and intimate. Having consumed less wine, and being more used to it due to her parents' more relaxed attitude to drinking (they would normally allow her a glass with dinner on a weekend) she was still fully compos mentis and able to take complete control of the evening's events. Once Freddie was suitably 'relaxed' and was simply accepting her probing kisses and hand sliding inside his shirt without question, she knew it was time to complete her plans for the night. Her thoughts turned to Jade, Cat and the Seattle-based girls; the sixteen-year-old smiled as she took his hand and stood, urging him to his (now slightly unsteady) feet. _Tonight_, she thought, _I take back what's mine_.

Wordlessly she led him upstairs to her bedroom and released his hand in the middle of the room. She took a step back from him and, her eyes never leaving his, reached up to her shoulders, sliding the beautiful prom dress off them before reaching behind her back to pull down its zipper and allowing the garment to pool on the floor by her feet. She smiled as his eyes flew out on stalks at the sight of her stood in front of him in only her matching underwear. He was rooted to the spot as she invaded his personal space, stopping right in front of him and removed his tie, throwing it behind her before she began to undo the buttons of his shirt.

* * *

Freddie woke the next morning with a mildly throbbing head. He blinked as he surveyed the unfamiliar surroundings; the brown-eyed fifteen-year-old was completely disoriented. He felt an arm drape over him and spun to face its owner; his girlfriend smiled back at him and the events of the previous evening came flooding back to him… the prom, the dance, the wine, the… _Oh. My. God._

Seeing his face contort in panic as he began to freak out, the blonde swooped in and kissed him gently and tenderly in an effort to calm him down. It didn't have an immediate effect on the boy as he shot out in concerned voice,

"I need to get home before my mom finds out I'm not there and starts asking awkward questions," he whispered in fear.

"What time is she normally home?"

"Around eight, eight-thirty."

"Relax, it's just after seven. We have _plenty_ of time," she reassured him. His eyes widened ever further as he comprehended her meaning and he squirmed a little from her presence.

"Just relax Freddie," her voice dropped to a whisper as his struggles continued, "it's ok Freddie."

She seized his arm, pulled him closer to her and kissed him again, deepening it as she felt his involuntary physiological reaction against her leg. She smiled a predatory grin and rolled him onto his back.

* * *

She took his hand and held it firmly as the couple made the short walk to the Benson home; the former iCarly's mind was a total whirlwind as they went and his legs were still a little shaky. Lindsey talked and he tried his best to respond coherently, not always succeeding. They arrived around eight-fifteen and, to the boy's relief, his mother's car was not there.

"You want a coffee?" he asked awkwardly as he looked at her.

"Sure," she agreed with a smile.

He put the coffee maker on before heading up to his room and changing out of his tuxedo and into jeans and a penny-T; he felt the desperate urge to take a shower but knew he didn't have the time with his girlfriend sat downstairs. Instead he headed back down and poured them both a drink; they sat at the kitchen table together with their coffees just as his mother opened the front door.

"Hi Freddie. Lindsey? You're here early," she observed before gasping in horror, "Have you been here all night?"

"No Mrs Benson; Freddie took me home and I fell asleep on my bed. I walked over here this morning," she reassured her calmly with a smile. _The truth and nothing but the truth, just not the _whole _truth_ the blonde thought amusedly. Marissa looked suspiciously at her but Lindsey refused to be cowed and gave her a challenging look. "You may have beaten _Cat_ out of his love-life," her voice was low and she leaned in towards her boyfriend's mother, meeting her eyes confidently, "but _I'm_ a big girl." Freddie, overhearing this despite her best efforts to shield him from a dispute between her and his mother, found his eyes drawn by her words to the sixteen-year-old blonde's chest and he thought back to the events of last night and this morning.

Marissa looked at the girl, seeing her dressed in jeans and a T-shirt rather than her prom dress, she felt reluctantly obliged to give her the benefit of the doubt.

"Well I'm going to bed; I'll see you later Freddie." Marissa kissed him on the cheek and headed for her bedroom.

Lindsey finished her coffee and slid into her lover's lap.

"Breakfast?" he offered, remembering they hadn't had time to eat before leaving. She answered with a kiss before groaning slightly,

"Nah, I can't stay. I need to get back before mom and dad do – and I need to practice my song for class while I have the house to myself; obviously I can't do it here or I'd wake your mom up."

"That would _not_ be good," Freddie agreed. _Though not as bad as if she ever finds out about last night_ he thought.

The blonde reluctantly extricated herself from her brown-haired boyfriend's arms and stood up, offering her hand to him and helping him up. They walked to the door together.

"So I'll see you tomorrow?" It wasn't _really_ a question but he answered in the affirmative anyway.

"Absolutely, see you at school."

She kissed him again and departed, leaving the boy to prepare himself a bowl of cereal. He ate it, his mind still something of a daze, before he headed upstairs and lay down on his bed.

_What the hell just happened to me?_ he wondered as he closed his eyes.

* * *

**AN: Ok, that was a rather… controversial chapter. Some of you **_**really **_**won't have liked it, others might have. I hope it was thought-provoking if nothing else. As ever I'd like your thoughts and feedback via the review box. Many thanks and I hope to see you all next week for the next chapter back in the usual time slot of Thursday night (so just over a week from now).**


	23. Chapter 22

**AN: Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter in this little story. I hope you are all having a good year so far. My thanks as always go to those of you who took the trouble to review the last chapter.**

**Challenge King – I would ask **_**why**_** Lindsey was so concerned about Beck and Jade. Genuine concern for the two or worried about them splitting and Jade making a move on Freddie? Either would be a possible explanation. The Freddie/Cat stuff – of course they will be revisited in time; he likes her, she likes him but the time isn't right at the moment, hopefully that will change later on. As for how far Lindsey went – is it good or bad? It depends on your perspective as to exactly what she did to him…**

**Subject87 – I'm glad you found it interesting; I hope you find this equally interesting.**

**LittleMissMusical – we all have our interpretations of the characters; I'm not going to comment on whether yours is right or wrong…**

**I had one other comment on this (not an on-site review) that defined Lindsey's actions as actually raping Freddie. That is certainly one, very valid, interpretation of her actions. Whether others wish to define it that way remains to be seen but certainly it's not a viewpoint that I dispute.**

**Anyway, here's the next chapter.**

* * *

An unexpected sight met Jade West as she walked towards school, hand-in-hand with her boyfriend. The ninth grade couple were walking past her favourite coffee shop, Jet Brew, when she glanced in, deliberating whether she had time to buy a cup before school, only to see that Freddie was sat at a table on his own, with his back to the door. She ground instantly to a halt, something that caused Beck to stop a couple of paces in front of her and turn to her in surprise. He followed her gaze and also spotted his friend inside the café.

"I don't see Lindsey…" the long-haired actor noted.

"I want coffee," Jade declared, releasing his hand and marching inside the shop.

The Canadian-born shrugged and followed his girlfriend inside, taking a seat next to the former Seattle native as the gothic girl bought two cups of steaming coffee from the counter.

"Hey Freddie," he greeted him. The other looked to him with an unusually vacant expression, as if he had been so deep in thought he had not realised Beck had arrived until he said something.

"Oh hey dude," he looked around. "Of course," he grinned, "Jade's getting coffee."

The teenage boys shared a laugh for a moment before Beck turned to the blonde's absence. "Lindsey not with you?" he asked.

"No, not this morning." Freddie was, much to his friend's surprise, unwilling to elaborate despite the silence growing between them, a silence punctured by the dark-brunette's arrival with fresh coffee for herself and her man.

"So, how are you?" she asked brusquely, once greetings had been exchanged.

"Oh, y'know, I'm fine." His tone fooled nobody.

"Really? You're here, you _were_ alone, _Lindsey _nowhere in sight for the first time in I don't know how long and you expect me to believe that?"

"_Yes_," he insisted sharply, "it was just a hectic weekend with the Prom and everything. She's at school catching up on her projects and I'm enjoying a coffee before school… just like you," he finished pointedly and returned to his brew.

Jade frowned at the top of his head. She didn't believe him, not for a second, but, particularly under Beck's watchful and increasingly impatient eye, didn't want to start Monday morning by arguing with one of her few decent friends.

"Hey Linds," Christine called to the blonde as the brunette spied her by her locker as she arranged her things for the morning; the two had bonded over their mutual loathing of Ryder Daniel and were now pretty good friends. The other sophomore girls that were stood nearby turned in her direction with slight scowls; they were still ostracising her as they had been ever since her relationship with a ninth grade boy had begun. A boy, Lindsey noted, that she had yet to see today. Neither he nor his friends had been in the Asphalt Café this morning, which was almost unheard of. She would have liked to have checked for him in the computer room, where he would hang out on the mornings when he needed to work was needed on the burgeoning school website, but her friend had just sidetracked her so instead she chose to answer her, casting a wary glance to the other girls as she did.

"'Sup Chrissie?" she returned.

"So did you have a good time at the Prom on Saturday?" The brunette's voice was tinged with a little friendly jealousy; she would have loved the chance to go to a Prom herself.

"Yeah," piped up Amy malevolently as she took a couple of steps in their direction, "did you have a good time with little Freddie?" Jenifer and a couple of the other girls laughed sycophantically.

"Oh, he's not so little," Lindsey smirked, closing her eyes for a moment as she thought back on how her weekend had gone.

The girls' jaws simultaneously dropped. "Excuse me?" an astonished Jenifer spluttered, causing the blonde's eyes to snap open again and focus on her.

"What? He's taller than me," the blonde shrugged innocently. "You coming?" she asked an equally shocked Christine; the dancer quickly recovered her poise and the two headed for class together, leaving the other girls staring after them and exchanging looks of questioning bewilderment.

The pair came across Freddie as he, Beck and Jade approached the locker area just as they were leaving it. Lindsey left Christine's side and rushed over to her boyfriend, giving him a big hug; one that Jade noticed it took him a moment to return. The gothic girl instantly picked up on the questioning expression of the watching brunette tenth grader and it was with interest that the girl, today wearing both blue and green hair extensions, eyed the couple's interaction; she saw Lindsey move in for a kiss but that Freddie again seemed somewhat less enthusiastic than her, particularly when she deepened it a little. They seemed to be confirming her suspicions from the coffee shop, _all is not well there_. She found herself wondering what had happened during the Prom at the weekend – and how she could persuade her friend to confide in her.

The sophomores headed for their class while the freshman trio, following a brief stop at their lockers, made their way to Sikowitz's classroom. The balding teacher announced at the start of his class that the list of new plays and performances would be up later in the day; he encouraged Cat and Freddie in particular to audition for them after their successful roles as understudies earlier in the year. The little red-head seemed suitably eager but the eccentric teacher was surprised by the distant look on the brown-eyed teenager's face. He was also surprised when Freddie failed to participate at all during the improv lesson; his lack of enthusiasm, indeed the fact that he was there in body but his mind was clearly elsewhere, was suitably obvious for Jade to elect not to pick him in her team for one of the scenes in class. Instead Eli, Beck, Cat and André were in her group for a scene about an alien invasion (Cat excelled with her ridiculous and hilarious lines, bringing joy to Sikowitz who again encouraged her to audition for as many plays as she felt she could).

The tech producer was first out of his seat when the bell went; he left the room before Sikowitz could stop him (wanting both to find out what was bothering him and remind him to sign up for some productions). He followed a circuitous and rather more isolated route to the music department, so much so that he arrived after Jade did despite leaving before her.

"What happened to you?" she asked in surprise as he entered the room.

"Oh, I went to the bathroom," he lied, studying the table as he was not able to meet her eyes. Her own blue-green eyes narrowed suspiciously as he looked into his bag, ostensibly for the materials he would need for this lesson.

"We're playing ping pong today. Will you be joining us or do you have plans with Lindsey?" She eyed him closely as she named his girlfriend; his slight stiffening piled more confirmation on her theory that something had gone down over the weekend. She wasn't sure _what_, given Lindsey's happiness to see _him_ that morning, but it was obvious that all was not well with him – and that his girlfriend was a large part of it.

"I don't have plans with her but I uh… think I'm busy."

"You _think_ you're busy?" she pressed. Fortunately he was spared having to answer by Anthony's arrival.

Again the boy was distant and withdrawn in class, despite the pair recently excelling during it with their song and performance, and again he fled as soon as the bell sounded – again this yielded concerned looks from the teacher. The gothic girl shook her head frustratedly as she watched him make his hasty exit and she received Anthony's questioning look; she shrugged at the teacher to answer his unspoken question and, instead of heading to the rec room for lunch with their friends, she decided that she would go in search of the Seattleite – and some answers.

"Ok, what is bugging you?" Jade snarked at the brown-haired fifteen-year-old as she tracked him down and cornered him by his locker; he really had been at school in body only all day so far and she was growing more and more concerned about it. Freddie looked around, saw a number of other students in the area and swallowed nervously.

Jade sighed theatrically and impatiently before seizing his wrist and hauling him to the janitor's closet, oblivious to the looks that they were getting from the small audience watching their interplay. She was at once relieved and perturbed that he didn't attempt to resist her, instead allowing her to guide him to the room. Once inside she released him and leaned against the newly closed door.

"You've been a zombie all day, you're trying to avoid your girlfriend, you _really_ didn't want to kiss her this morning and now you're avoiding, and evasive with, _us_; start talking," she commanded as her eyes bored into his own.

He took a deep breath, debating whether he should tell the whole sorry tale; her steely glare told him that she would accept nothing less.

"It never leaves this closet, alright?" he demanded.

She non-verbally agreed with a small nod of her head, folding her arms and staring at him.

"Well, you know Saturday night was the Prom at Northridge and that Lindsey and I went to it…" he began cautiously. She gave another curt, impatient nod to 'encourage' him to continue. "Well, afterwards the limo dropped us off at hers. It was just the two of us there with her parents being away for the weekend. She put some music on and we danced, she sang – really, _really_ well – and then she uh… seduced me," he admitted in a low voice, it was one that was laced with shame.

"WHAT?" the mean girl was incredulous. "What do you mean she _seduced_ you?"

"I mean she got me drunk and it ended up with me and her, her bed, no clothes and a condom – what do you _think_ I mean?" he snapped back, anger temporarily replacing shame in his voice as he was forced to recount the events of the night in more detail than he cared to.

The blue-and-green-streak haired teenager took a series of steadying breaths as she processed his bombshell; she wasn't sure what she expected him to say but it certainly wasn't this. "You're serious," she stated eventually.

"Oh you noticed?"

She narrowed her eyes a little at his manner but the freaked-out look on his face stayed her hand; her eyes softened as she continued to look at him and take in his appearance and demeanour.

"So… so how do you, y'know," she took a steadying breath and tried again, "how are you doing dealing with it?"

"I don't know," he admitted weakly as his anger burned itself out and his shoulders slumped, "I'm just completely overwhelmed by it and can't even begin to process the whole thing." He sat by the far wall of the close with his back leaning against the wall, drew his knees up to his chin and hugged them with his arms, closing his eyes and letting out a long, tense sigh as he rocked back and forth on his butt.

His gothic friend bit her lip nervously before sitting with her back against the door and facing him.

"Do you want to talk about it? I'm here, I'll listen and I won't repeat it."

He shook his head before burying it in his arms and knees. Long, awkward seconds passed by as the fourteen-year-old girl studied him; she was completely at a loss about what to do in this situation; only one thing occurred to her.

His head shot up as she clicked the lock shut. "Relax," she whispered, working hard to suppress an inappropriate laugh, "I'm not looking for a repeat performance." She sat down next to him and rested her right hand on his left shoulder.

"I'm here, Freddie. I don't know what you're going through but if you ever need to talk, I'm here and I'll listen," she repeated.

"Thanks Jade," he whispered, raising his head and giving her a watery smile, "and maybe I'll take you up on it in the future – but not right now. I need to figure stuff out for me before I can even think about talking through it all."

She nodded before a thought struck her. "Y'know, even with me dragging you in here and being all intimidating and everything, I'm still kinda surprised that you actually 'fessed up and told me," she commented, standing up and heading over towards the door.

"As you've noticed, the whole thing has been driving me insane all day – all of yesterday too. I had to basically hide from my mom all day so that she wouldn't notice that something was up. I guess you helped me to realise that I needed to tell _someone_," he sighed, "and you're the only one I know I can trust to definitely not tell Cat."

"What?" the dark-haired girl turned her head back towards him; she was confused by the sudden addition of the red-head's name into the mix.

"You'd never do anything that would hurt her," he explained.

"You still like her," Jade whispered, covering her hand with her mouth; it was more of a statement than a question.

He looked uncomfortably at her. "I'm with Lindsey," he replied firmly, though the gothic girl could see the look in his eyes betray him. She opened the door.

"You coming?" she gestured to the hallway.

"In a minute."

She nodded and walked out alone, heading back towards the rec room and ignoring the stares of the students who watched her leave the closet, and saw Freddie still in there. Many saw the look on his face and assumed the mean girl was the cause of it; their whispers didn't bother her at all.

The boy rose slowly as she disappeared from sight; he gathered his thoughts and his belongings before he made his way back into the hallway, ignoring the curious looks and whispers being directed at him. Despite the talk, and sharing his secret, he was still rather troubled by the whole thing so he avoided eye contact with any of the other kids as he visited his locker before making his way early, _very early_, to Science class.

"Hi Freddie," Cat called brightly as she entered the room along with Beck. "We missed you at lunch," she added sadly.

"Yeah I was, uh… busy," he shrugged. Beck eyed him curiously; he knew that the teen was in music class with Jade before lunch and obviously knew Jade had arrived late for their ping pong game. However he hadn't pressed the issue with his girlfriend when she told him she had spoken to the boy, but refused to elaborate further.

"Are you signing up for any of the productions? It'd be great to be in something with you again."

"Maybe, I'll see what's still available," he forced himself to smile at her.

"What's the matter Freddie?" Even the red-head couldn't remain oblivious to his mood forever.

"Nothing major; just something Lindsey and I need to work out between us. Something that came up after the Prom."

"So that's why you're avoiding her? You don't know how to work it out right now?"

"Yeah," was all he'd say in confirmation. He felt the vibrate of his phone and took it from his pocket. He sighed and tapped off a quick reply, sending it just before the teacher arrived.

"Was that her?" Beck asked quietly. He nodded but didn't elaborate, instead turning his attention to the teacher as he prepared to start the lesson.

By the end of the day, however, the whispers and rumours from lunch had reached the actor.

"What did you do to him?" he confronted his dark-brunette girlfriend after last class.

"Who?" she tucked her green hair extensions behind her right ear as she turned to him.

"You _know_ what I mean," he chastised, "people saw you leave the janitor's closet and saw Freddie still there and have been speculating on what you did to him."

"They can _speculate_ all they want; we just talked is all."

"Really?"

"Great. My own _boyfriend_ doesn't believe me and thinks I'd hurt my friend." She leaned closer to him, "You saw what Freddie was like this morning – and it really hasn't improved." Seeing the doubt still in his eyes she sighed in annoyance. "You _always _think the worst of me. Fine – believe me, don't believe me, I'm past caring – I'm going home."

She turned on her heel and stormed out of school, shaking her head and ruefully thinking that Freddie's wasn't the only relationship that looked like it was hitting a few bumps in the road.

"You're avoiding me." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Lindsey had finally succeeded in tracking her boyfriend down by his locker at the end of the school day. None of his friends were around so there was no way that Freddie could avoid the conversation any longer. "Why have you been avoiding me?" she demanded.

"I'm not avoiding you," he replied weakly.

"So now you're lying to me too?" She put her hands on her hips and glared at the younger teen.

He closed his eyes and sighed as he slumped against his locker.

"Freddie?" she asked, annoyance giving way to concern in her tone. "What's the matter?"

"Saturday night," he said quietly, looking around to make sure the hall was suitably deserted and that they wouldn't be overheard, "and yesterday morning… I'm just in a bit of a daze after it."

"She leaves her boy in a daze," the blonde chuckled with a small double fist-pump before her face fell a little when he didn't smile back.

"I just… What happened was so unexpected and out of the blue that I need to figure this all out for myself in my head," he tried to explain. Seeing her face fall further he hurriedly continued, "I don't mean we should stop seeing each other or anything like that, but I am going to need some alone time now and again while I…" he shrugged, "_process_ I guess is the word."

The revelation caught her off guard and she felt some hurt rise up in her chest. "I'll leave you to _process_ then," she almost spat, surprising herself, and him, with how much bitterness was in her tone as she turned and left him stood alone in the middle of the school. He sighed again and slid down the lockers to sit on the floor, alone and in contemplation.

Half an hour later, and no closer to dealing with or processing anything, he was chivvied out of the school by the janitor as he was ready to lock the main doors.

With Marissa on nights, Freddie's quiet and withdrawn behaviour could continue throughout the evening without being noticed; the following day at school, however, everybody had realised that something was up with the normally outgoing ninth grader. Teachers looked concerned when he failed to offer any answers (particularly in Maths; his Science teacher was less concerned, knowing all about what happens to teenagers and having seen numerous examples of boys becoming sullen and withdrawn overnight) and instead sat quietly, still making notes and doing the work but looking very, very distracted.

After their science lesson Cat seized his hand, innocently, and physically dragged him, with little resistance, to the signing-up sheets for the productions. The red-haired girl was determined that she wanted to star alongside him again and made sure that they both signed up for a couple of plays that she was interested in. He smiled at her, the first real smile he'd managed in a few days, as he was genuinely grateful for her persistence. He really did want to perform again but would have missed the deadlines with the mood he was currently in.

A certain dark-haired sophomore girl viewed the scene from across the hallway. She watched Cat take his arm gently as the freshmen left before walking smartly over to the board and smiling at the names on the list.

"Interesting…" she muttered before setting out in search of her blonde classmate and former friend with an evil grin adoring her face.

The final period of the day passed without incident (well, as much as it could in Sikowitz's class). Freddie headed home to get his fencing kit before heading to the studio for his lesson and to meet up again with Beck and André. Cat, still concerned about Freddie, took the opportunity to invite Jade for a coffee so she could talk over her concerns. The mean girl, knowing what was troubling their friend but having promised to keep his secret (knowing what it was she wouldn't have repeated it and betrayed his trust like that even without the promise), had to walk a fine line as she didn't intend to lie to her best friend. She had told Cat the previous day that she had spoken to him at lunchtime and was able to tell enough truth by explaining that he really didn't want to talk about what was troubling him (she was silently thankful that Cat didn't outright ask her if she _knew_ what was bothering him). Instead she merely expressed the hope that he would either snap out of it or talk about it when he was ready to.

"Man, what's up with Freddie these days?" André asked Beck as they watched their friend struggle through his lesson. They were taking a break from their sparring and rehydrating while they watched him working with the instructor; the brown-haired boy seemed a shadow of his usual self, even though they had hoped fencing would be a welcome distraction from whatever it was that was troubling him.

They would get a chance to talk as a frustrated Freddie sat on the bleachers at the end of his lesson; he knew it had been almost a complete waste of time but just couldn't regain his focus.

"Freddie man, are you ok?" André sat next to him, Beck taking up a position on the tech producer's other side. "You were totally off your game tonight."

"You've been off everything for the last couple of days," noted Beck. "Still having your 'disagreement' with Lindsey?"

He nodded glumly; his fog of bewildered confusion had temporarily lifted, only to be replaced by angry frustration about how it was affecting, _taking over_, every part of his life. He took advantage of the brief moment of clarity and relative peace to ask his Canadian friend to spar with him; Beck agreed and soon regretted doing so as the Freddie of old surfaced for a few minutes.

The tech producer cracked a big smile as they removed their facemasks. "_That_ felt better," he said triumphantly.

"That's who I want to see next week," the instructor called in an impressed voice; he too had been surprised and disappointed by the drop off in the boy's performance tonight.

Time was against them so the three Hollywood Arts students headed for the locker room to shower and change.

"Are you _sure_ you're ok?" Beck asked in concern as they left. "Your mom's working nights isn't she? You could crash at mine," he offered as Freddie confirmed his mother would indeed be working overnight again.

Freddie grinned at the thought. "Sleep on the floor of your RV? Thanks for the offer but I'll be fine." Beck smiled his understanding; he realised he couldn't be the best host given his living conditions.

Arriving at home, however, and faced with an empty house, the tech producer didn't want to be alone; he finally felt the urge to talk. His first thought was of Sam but really didn't want to end up dropping this sort of bomb on her over the phone so that really left only one person he could talk to. He pulled his phone out of his jeans pocket and punched in the speed-dial number. He put the device to his ear and listened as his contact answered with an unusually warm "Hey Freddie."

"Hey Jade, got a minute..?"

* * *

The tech producer headed in to school early the next morning (having been woken earlier than usual by his mother arriving home; normally she didn't wake him but he was sleeping far more lightly these days, in addition to his other issues) and made a start on some of the work that needed doing for The Slap. He knew his team would be in danger of falling behind if he didn't keep up his share of the workload and he was determined not to let the rest of them down.

This concern was exacerbated by the fact that he was still having issues with one of 'his team'; the eleventh grader he had argued with on Lindsey's birthday was still complaining about having to work under a ninth grader and was clearly looking for any chance he could to change the structure of the body's hierarchy in his favour; Freddie appreciated that his recent attitude could hand that opportunity to his "rival".

"Hard at it already I see?" Steven, a junior who was the de facto "leader" and one of the former editorial staff of the official newspaper greeted him when he arrived a quarter of an hour later.

"Well, plenty to do," he spared a quick glance for the newcomer before returning his attention to the workstation. Other members of the site's staff arrived as well over the next few minutes and soon the teenagers were busy putting additional touches to their site.

The first bell distracted Freddie from his work; he looked up to see that he was alone in the room and felt a little surprised and disappointed that nobody had given him a time check as he left (in fact a couple of them had done but he hadn't heard them so they eventually gave up). He hastily collected his things and rushed off to his English class.

He felt a little better after his fencing and talk with Jade but still felt like he limped through yet another class before arriving in Science, where at least he would have some of his close friends for company.

"Hi Freddie," Cat greeted him in her usual bubbly way.

"Hey," he smiled at her, giving her a friendly tap on the shoulder with his hand as he took his seat next to the bubbly red-haired girl. "When do you think we'll hear about the plays we've signed up for?" He was eager for a normal topic to discuss with them.

"I think they'll announce most of them on Friday," she told him.

"Yeah, Sikowitz said they'd decide by the weekend so we can have the scripts to read through before Monday," Beck chimed in. Then the actor leaned closer to his friend, "So are you feeling any better after yesterday?" he asked quietly.

"A little," he shrugged, "I think the fencing helped." He omitted to mention his chat with the other's girlfriend just at this point.

The boy managed to find some more focus over the course of the lesson; he was mindful of his red-headed friends continued struggles and found that helping her kept his mind off the "complications" in his relationship with Lindsey. He was smiling more and certainly felt more at peace when they left the room – until they ran into the, surprisingly, rather annoyed-looking blonde by the lockers while on their way to the Grub Truck and Asphalt Café.

"Can you give us a minute?" she asked Beck and Cat brusquely. Without waiting for an answer she took her man's elbow and steered him to a private corner of the hallway, underneath the main staircase. Cat stared after them before Beck tugged at her sleeve and guided her out of the school and into their usual lunch area.

"_This_ is how you 'process'?" she asked in a mixture of sarcasm, jealousy and cold fury. He looked at her in confusion. "You've signed up for two plays with your ex-girlfriend."

"So?" he asked. "We worked well together in the play before Christmas and she asked me to sign up for them. What's the big deal about being in a production or two with a friend, particularly one I know I can perform well opposite?"

"You didn't think that _I_ might want to star in something with my boyfriend? You _are_ still my boyfriend right? Or is that something else you're not telling me?"

"What? Where's this coming from?" he was completely baffled now. "Of course I still want to be your boyfriend."

"Then why don't you act like it?" she demanded. She walked away from him radiating anger as his shoulders slumped again; the improvement in his mood he had felt in his last class had just been well and truly destroyed. He still wasn't sure _what_ he'd done wrong, he mused with a shake of the head, but clearly he _had_ done the wrong thing.

"I guess their talk didn't go well," Beck muttered to his girlfriend as Freddie and his accompanying massively diminished spirits joined them at lunch. Jade directed her gaze over to the newcomer, casting him a cautious eye and sympathetic look, an action that surprised her boyfriend; he was not used to the mean girl acting in such a sympathetic way towards others, except Cat on occasion. He didn't have any reason to suspect anything between the two – and nor did he, though he did wonder just how much they had bonded over the recent music project they had worked on together. Cat, meanwhile, had also noted his new funk and bowed her head sadly as she studied the table, at a loss for something to say to him.

Instead, being Cat, she opted for the first thing that came into her head.

"One time, my brother…" she began, continuing amid the collective groans of the rest of the table.

The group made their way to Sikowitz's class after the bell rang; Jade brought up the rear and caught Freddie's arm as he attempted to follow Beck inside the room.

"I know we talked last night but the offer still stands, _any_ time," she said with a sad smile. He nodded gratefully and she released him, letting him lead the way into their next class.

Freddie was indeed thankful that he could talk to Jade about the things that were troubling him; it was certainly helping him to begin to deal with it. He realised, though, that with things threatening to spiral out of control, there was only one person he could really talk to about his relationship. He fired off a text as they were leaving the class, asking his girlfriend to meet him after last class.

She agreed, rather tersely, and was stood waiting by the main door to the school when he reached his locker.

"Hey," he greeted her softly.

"Hi," she returned in a cool tone.

"Want a smoothie?" he offered.

* * *

**AN: There will be certainly one more chapter next week which will probably wrap up the year and this part of the story. Please feel free to let me know what you thought of this chapter using the review box. PD.**


	24. Chapter 23

**Hello again everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of iSwitch Schools – the final chapter of the school year for our gang. I hope you are all well and have had a good week.**

**As ever I will start by giving my thanks to everyone who read and reviewed the previous chapters; your comments are always well appreciated.**

**SpazQueen15 – I'm glad you seem to have liked it. As for Lindsey – well, you'll just have to keep reading to find out how things move on in that regard.**

**Challenge King – thanks; Cat can be deceptively strong-willed when she feels like it. The Freddie/Jade friendship will be one to watch moving forwards.**

**Agent-M, another Lindsey-hater… they seem to be growing in number. Certainly what happened after the Prom could be construed as her being no good for him, I agree.**

**Subject87 – I'm glad you like the Freddie/Jade stuff; Freddie/Lindsey does seem to be a little rocky just now doesn't it?**

**Oh – and the person impersonating AJ Kenobi (yeah the real one told me all about it) – you're a douche. If you want to criticise me or my writing then go ahead and take a shot, I of all people know I'm far from a perfect (or even competent) writer, but grow a pair and do it in your own name/alias rather than pretending to be someone else.**

**Finally, I am taking Cat's birthday as the same day as Ariana Grande's; the Victorious wiki site has suddenly listed it as early February, a few days after Freddie's, but claims she is a year younger than him – this is obviously impossible given that they are in the same year group (come on, can you honestly see **_**Cat**_** skipping a grade?)**

* * *

When he looked back, a few weeks later, on the events of the weekend of the Prom, Freddie could still scarcely believe what had happened. As the school year moved remorselessly towards its conclusion, however, he felt that he was gradually reaching a point at which he was at least a little more accepting of what had transpired. He was feeling and acting much more like the Freddie Benson that everyone knew and loved, he had been able to get the parts in the performances he had signed up for with Cat, his school work and fencing classes were back on track, end-of-year projects had gone well, his GPA was good and he and the others had succeeded in getting "The Slap" up and running. Students were beginning to register and run their own accounts and his role was reduced largely to maintenance of the server and keeping an eye out for any uploading of inappropriate content that required removal.

Cat was extremely happy to have "the old Freddie" back as she had missed her friend's happy disposition during his gloomy spell following the Prom weekend. The red velvet-haired girl had never broached the subject with him, partly this was because she didn't want to think about Proms (she was still disappointed that nobody had asked her to one), partly because it would lead to discussion of Lindsey, which she was keen to avoid whenever possible, and partly it was because there were just too many other things to talk about when she was with him. Aside from their plays, which they needed to learn their lines for and rehearse, Cat had continued to struggle with her Maths and Science so Freddie's steadily improving mood had been of particular benefit to the little red-head as he was helping to coach her through the classes, something that was to his girlfriend's silent displeasure.

At last the Seattle-born boy had reached a point again where he felt that everything was going in the right direction for him in his relationship with Lindsey; they had talked about and eventually resolved their arguments over the plays he had signed up for and some of the other issues that had been threatening to derail them, though they avoided (for now) the 'elephant in the room'. Part of this was because he still wasn't overly comfortable discussing it or even _thinking_ about it, not least because thinking about it was beginning to lead him down awkward paths when it came to her actions from that night, but his girlfriend was equally unwilling to bring it up – because she was now thinking a little differently about how things were between them.

From the blonde's perspective, she felt that things had certainly changed for the worse since that fateful May night; she had been forced to stand and watch her boyfriend withdraw from her after the event and she still felt rather bitter that he felt the need to "process" what they had done together and that he had felt, and seemed to continue to feel, that he couldn't do that by talking with _her_. She had also, though she didn't realise it as such, allowed her classmate to sow fresh seeds of doubt in her mind by breaking the news that, in the depth of his sullenness, he had signed up for plays alongside his former girlfriend rather than his current one and, although superficially things seemed ok between them (they sat together again before school, on a lunchtime if neither was busy, they had occasional mall, movie or dinner dates – not as regularly as they used to, and she wanted, due to their workloads – and there were plenty of little PDAs for them around school), she found herself really questioning just how well things were going for them as a couple, and whether "claiming her territory" had proved to be a huge mistake.

She found that she was having to make a conscious effort to put such thoughts out of her mind at the moment, still trying to enjoy spending time with him (and his friends, sometimes, although looking at and thinking about Jade and Cat still took her mind down troubling paths leading to a place where she doubted both him and their relationship) and attempting to find a new equilibrium with him where they could be happy, though more and more she found herself wondering if it was still worth it – particularly as Christine was still the only tenth grade girl who was willing to talk to her.

Things had gotten even worse after the two had argued again over his helping Cat to study on a lunchtime or after school (which she complained was eating into their limited 'alone time') but Freddie refused to give ground. "She's my friend and she needs my help," he explained with an air of finality; he was becoming tired of having to defend his actions where his female friends were concerned and really couldn't understand why she felt jealous of them. Looking back on the last few months he realised that this seemed to be the root of all the troubles between them; that around Spring Break she had started to appear jealous over his friendships with other girls and he began to wonder whether that had motivated her into pushing (_forcing?_ He wondered) him to go so much further than we wanted to and so soon.

All of the students at Hollywood Arts had been busy with preparations for their end of year tests and the freshman class in particular found it to be a tough time as they attempted to cope with the massively increased demands on their time, both with the academic and performing classes that they needed to work on. André was beginning to stress over his recital, particularly as Cat was having to focus so heavily on her other work, and the upcoming plays, that she was having difficulty getting together with him and Jade for rehearsals. She _had_ been able to learn the songs that he wanted her to sing but he would still have felt happier if the three had been able to spend some more time preparing for it. Jade attempted to reassure him that everything would be fine; he was only partially convinced.

Beck was alone in managing to retain his laid-back demeanour, even as the day for the performance of his play steadily approached; nothing seemed to faze the long-haired actor. He had full confidence in Freddie to manage the stage and equipment for him and, being as experienced as he was on the technical side, Freddie already knew exactly what to do and when to do it, so the only thing that could be of any concern was the preparation of his co-star. The Canadian-born believed in Robbie but the ventriloquist seemed to lack self-belief, and wasn't helped by Rex continually criticising him.

"Just take it off him and throw it in a dumpster," Freddie shrugged when Beck voiced his concerns about whether the curly-haired boy would be better off without the puppet.

"A little severe, don't you think?"

"Why? Shouldn't he learn to function without his alter-ego? Wouldn't it be better for him to actually have to believe in himself and stick up for himself without having to hide behind a doll?"

Beck shrugged; a part of him agreed with his friend but he knew he could never raise the matter so bluntly with his co-star. Instead he tried to massage the boy's ego over the play during their rehearsals, encouraging him and pointing out that he knew his lines and was ready for it. This seemed to work in the immediate-term, being the only time that he didn't have Rex sat on his hand, but the confidence began to dissipate the moment puppet and handler were reunited.

The school's academic end of year tests and exams were scheduled to end just before the opening night of the first of the two plays Cat and Freddie were in together (Eli was also in the first of them in a minor role). The two were spending virtually all evening, every evening together (except for the night of Freddie's fencing lesson, where she practiced with Jade for André's recital instead, the day the two boys were at the gym – on those days she again hung out with her best friend and the two girls did a little work on some of their other subjects and on Saturday evening when he and Lindsey were spending some time together). Being around one another so much reminded the red-head forcibly of just how fond she was of the Seattleite boy; she loved the times they were together but couldn't help but feel regret that she didn't get to talk to him before Lindsey did back in January; she reflected ruefully on how different, and how much better, things could have been had she done so. Instead she made the most of the time they could spend together working on their studies and learning some of their lines when they felt they needed a break from the academic work and revision.

"Thank you Freddie," she whispered sincerely to him at the end of one, particularly gruelling evening of study as he got up to leave the Valentine home; Cat had really been struggling with some of the topics in Physics and they had spent hours (interspersing a few scenes from their plays to stop her brain from being totally fried) going over and over it until she finally understood it, which was fortunate as the test was the next day. Marissa had arrived to take her son home so he got up to leave.

"You're welcome," he smiled genuinely. "You all set for tomorrow's test now?"

"I think so… thanks to you." She pulled him into a hug and he readily returned it, holding the shorter girl close and resting his chin on the top of her head briefly. He released her and took a step back towards the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he said with a smile; she waved as he reached the car and looked back towards her and he waved back.

The two Bensons chatted about their days during the drive back to their home and a little more once they got in. Marissa was keen to know how Freddie's studies were coming along as she, of course, knew that he had the tests and productions coming up. He reassured her that he was on top on things (privately she thought that Cat was the _last_ person he should be revising with, given her low opinion of the girl's intelligence, however she accepted that he also needed to work on his lines and that there was therefore nobody better for him to work with overall) and all set for his tests.

The Benson matriarch had noticed that he was spending far less time with Lindsey than he used to, but she put this down to how busy they were with school work (not daring to hope that it was something more permanent that had gone wrong between them). She never really discussed her son's girlfriend with him if she could avoid it, choosing instead to try and pretend that the blonde didn't exist wherever possible, something that had become easier to do with seeing so much less of her over the last month or so. She frowned slightly as her son was distracted by sending some text messages back and forth; she assumed that he was conversing with Lindsey.

"I'll be in my room," he told his mother as, to her surprise, he got up suddenly, "I need to video chat with someone."

"The blonde girl?" his mother asked reluctantly.

"Yes," he replied with a smile and headed upstairs. As he did he amused himself with the knowledge that he hadn't lied to her, he just hadn't told her _which_ blonde girl he'd be talking to. Later on he would wonder why it didn't really bother him anymore that his mother didn't even want to utter his girlfriend's name.

He loaded up the chat software and clicked on her user name, smiling broadly at the cheeky grin that greeted him. "Hey Sam, how are you?" he asked.

* * *

Cat sat in the Main Hall of the school nervously jiggling her pen between the thumb and index finger of her right hand as she looked around her. Her eyes settled on the brown-haired boy sat a few seats away already hunched over his Physics paper and writing furiously. She smiled as the sight of him helped her to try to recall the things they had studied together the previous evening; it calmed her anxieties somewhat. She re-read the first question and threw him another glance before closing her eyes and trying to let his words and explanations wash over her. She thought long and hard on how to apply them to the question and slowly came up with an answer that made sense. She grinned happily as she put pen to paper and started to write.

In the seat directly behind Cat, Jade could see her friend casting glances towards the former tech producer; she smiled softly at the thought that he had helped her out so much with her studies – and to the point where she was actually fairly comfortable with it. She had lost count of the days when the revision sessions had ended but Cat had called her up in near panic, still convinced that despite Freddie's best efforts she would fail all of her classes. For the gothic girl it was a relief to see her feeling genuinely confident about the paper in front of her. Jade swept her brown hair and dark pink extensions from her eyes as he lowered her head and returned her gaze to her own test.

For his part, the former iCarly tech producer was in a relaxed mood. It was one of his stronger subjects so he was almost enjoying the test. He finished early, with nearly twenty minutes of the allotted hour-and-a-half to go, and read carefully through the paper to make sure he'd done everything right and not made any silly errors. Having done so he thought back on his chat with Sam the previous evening; his friend was in high spirits, despite (or perhaps because) she wasn't in school herself after being kicked out of Ridgeway over the "Gibby" incident. Her mother had tried to find another school for her and continued to try to do so but had yet to succeed, partly due to the fact that she spent more time drinking, among other things, with her latest boyfriend than she did looking for a school for her daughter.

The blonde had still yet to speak to Carly since her release.

Before they knew it Friday afternoon had come around and the freshmen had completed their final tests of the year. The school had decided to introduce a "kickback" evening, a large outdoor party/gathering in the Asphalt Café, the first of which would take place this evening to celebrate the end of the academic tests and the gang made plans to get together for it. It would provide a welcome break for them before they turned their full attention to their performances, which would take place during the following week, the last week of term. It would also give them a chance to make it a party for Cat, whose birthday it was today. The newly-turned fifteen-year-old girl wasn't having a great day, with two tests to do, but she felt that they went reasonably well (thanks to Freddie's tuition) and was looking forward to the evening at least as a chance to celebrate her birthday, and the end of the academic tests, with her friends.

"Hey Cat," Freddie greeted her as he arrived. Cat smiled at her friend, trying to mask the disappointment she felt at seeing him hand-in-hand with Lindsey. He released the blonde and gave the red-head a quick hug before his girlfriend gave his arm a not entirely gentle tug to persuade him to release her. "Jade, Beck," he waved at the other couple as he saw them a few steps behind the birthday girl. Beck smiled back but the dark brunette frowned a little at the sight of Lindsey pulling him away from Cat before turning to the brown-haired teen and smiling at him.

"Hi Freddie, Lindsey," Beck greeted the pair warmly; he, of course, still knew nothing of what had transpired after the Prom. Jade greeted Freddie but pointedly ignored the blonde, something that earned her glares from both the sophomore and her own, Canadian-born, boyfriend. She ignored the two and struck up a conversation with Cat instead while Beck eyed Freddie and the tenth grader apologetically. Lindsey frowned meanwhile at the lack of reaction from the former Seattle native to the gothic girl's snubbing her.

The awkwardness was set aside when the party got into full swing; the students collected various foods on sticks (something that reminded Freddie briefly of the Groovy Smoothie back in Seattle) and the hot cheese fountain was hugely popular as a way of adding some extra flavour to the snacks (and masking the flavour of the sausages Sikowitz had supplied; nobody was quite sure what they were). Music was playing over the tannoy and Lindsey encouraged Freddie to join her for a few dances. He was happy enough to do so but also enjoyed dances with both Jade and Cat while his girlfriend danced with a couple of the guys from her year (unlike the girls, _they_ had no problem with who she was dating).

"Have you managed to escape from her?" Jade half-joked as she took a seat next to Freddie during a lull in proceedings.

"Huh? Oh, she's gone to the bathroom," he replied.

"How are things between you now?"

"Better than they were but not as good as before the Prom," he conceded in a worried voice that was barely above a whisper. "I just hope we can figure everything out in time."

Jade nodded; it was obvious that the blonde still meant a great deal to her friend, despite the rocky spell they were going through. As much as she was hoping to see him and Cat together again someday, she wanted him to be happy so a part of her wanted them to figure things out.

The party began winding down around midnight; Lindsey's mother arrived to give her daughter and her boyfriend a ride back to their respective homes so the ninth grader said a quick goodbye to his friends. He gave Cat one last birthday hug and a kiss on her cheek as he departed, bringing another glower from his girl behind his back; it drew a small smirk from Jade, who was watching the blonde closely. Once the couple had left the others began to disperse as well, making plans to meet over the weekend to begin final preparations for their respective performances the following week.

Freddie and Cat spent most of the next morning and afternoon together doing some more rehearsing for their play. Freddie also encouraged the girl to sing her pieces from the recital for him when they took a break between scenes and after some intensive practice. He loved the red-velvet haired teen's voice and found it a calming influence on him – something to distract him any time he thought about the problems in his relationship. He did, however, have a pleasant date with his blonde girl at the mall that evening; they ate at the Food Court before catching a movie, just like they had many times before.

* * *

The gang were back at school the following Monday for their final week before the summer break. For Freddie this meant he had the two plays he was performing in and the technical side of Beck's. For Cat, she had the same two as Freddie along with André's recital; Jade, aside from that recital, had one play in which she was the lead, starring opposite Beck. He and Robbie, of course, had his one-act play while the ventriloquist also had minor roles in a couple of other shows, so it promised to be a busy last few days for the freshmen, though they would only be required to be in school when they actually had a rehearsal or performance to give. This gave them a little more time outside of school, though Freddie and Cat again spent a lot of it together finishing their preparations and practicing their lines for the plays, while she also took some time to rehearse her songs.

The afternoon of the pair's first play came around; Freddie arrived early and headed straight to the dressing rooms. He was the first person there and felt a little nervous as he walked around the room; he ran his hand down his costume and took some deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself. _It's just like the play we did before Christmas_ he told himself. He closed his eyes and tried to think of who he could talk to to help alleviate his nerves. The boy took another deep breath before Carly's face appeared in his mind's eye; she was the most experienced actress he knew. A glance at his watch told him that the girl would be in school at the moment so calling her was useless. Instead he called Sam and voiced his fears and nerves to her. The little trouble-maker was moderately sympathetic; she took the opportunity to taunt him for his nerves while also encouraging him.

"It's just like when we did the web show," she commented; he observed her unwillingness to name the show and surmised, correctly, that it was to do with the collapse of her friendship with Carly. "You know the lines right? So just go out there and put on a good show – and if you forget them then make it up as you go along."

"Improv? That could upset a few people and throw them off their own performances," he noted with a wry smile.

"If they're talented enough they'll adapt," she responded flippantly.

Freddie nodded, thinking of Cat and the others in the play; all were, of course, talented performers and could no doubt cope if he went off-script, though he'd rather not put them into that position. The two talked a little longer and she teased him a bit more for his apprehension.

"Thanks Sam… I think," he grumbled after her 'pep-talk' concluded; one of the other cast members had just arrived so he said goodbye and rung off.

The rest of the students arrived and they changed into their costumes. Curtain call soon came and they made their way to the stage. All male eyes were drawn to Cat as she stood smiling nervously in her cute, pink dress that stopped just above her knees.

"You ready?" Freddie asked in a whisper. She nodded her head and grinned at him.

The first act went smoothly for the pair; they knew, and remembered, their lines and the two fifteen year olds were enjoying being on the stage together again. During a rare quiet moment when her character wasn't involved in proceedings Cat scanned the dimly lit auditorium and spied Jade and Beck sat together near the back. She shot them a quick smile and saw Jade return it as she glanced at her best friend. The concluding scene of the first act was Freddie's character saying goodbye to Cat's before he went away for a while; the two were required to kiss, something they had decided not to rehearse given their 'history' together. Freddie took his ex-girlfriend into his arms and planted a passionate-looking kiss on her lips as she wrapped her arms around his back. The curtain came down as they continued to kiss; both could hear the cheers from their gothic friend amid the applause from the rest of the audience as it did. Jade settled back in her seat with a contented expression on her face and took her boyfriend's hand; she was enjoying the chance to take a break from her own preparation and support her friends.

"Breathe! Breathe!" Freddie shouted as he hunched over Cat's "lifeless" body. His character had raced back from his trip having received the news of her character's bad injury and arrived at the hospital to see her vitals flat-lining.

"I'm sorry," Eli told him, "she's gone."

The boy slumped over the redhead's body and began to draw rasping breaths as he sobbed bitterly. A couple of the other actors placed hands on his shoulders and began to calm him.

"Goodbye," he whispered and kissed her forehead tenderly before standing and being pulled into a consoling hug. The audience 'awwed' as the curtain came down before breaking into rapturous applause as it rose to reveal the entire cast in a line taking their bow; Freddie and Cat in the centre of the row.

"Great performance Freddie!" she hugged him as they left the stage. "You too Eli," she smiled shyly at the other boy she previously dated and he returned it evenly.

"Thanks Cat; you were great too," her brown-haired co-star complimented her eagerly; the sandy-blond boy nodded to his side.

Unfortunately the pair had little time to celebrate with the other actors because they had their second play to finish preparing for; instead they headed for an empty classroom in the school and began going over their lines for the other performance. Again they would be required to kiss a couple of times during the play; this time they were happy to rehearse it.

"It's just a stage kiss," Cat shrugged nonchalantly, trying desperately to suppress the feelings engendered by it and forget the ones their previous kiss had brought back to the surface of her mind; Freddie already has a girlfriend, she reminded herself, one that he's been seeing for five months or more – it wouldn't be anything more than a stage kiss to him.

"Just a stage kiss," echoed Freddie, but he found himself feeling a little disappointed at her dismissive manner towards it. _I should have realised_, he thought, _that having learnt about the art of stage kissing that that would be all it was to her_. He also began wading into uncomfortable territory by comparing the kisses with her during the last play and preparation for the next one to the ones he was now sharing with his actual girlfriend; the boy decided it was best not to draw too deep a comparison between them.

"So, what are plans for the summer?" Sikowitz asked the cast after the second of the plays; again it had gone successfully, they had delivered all their lines perfectly and both teens had enjoyed the experience. Freddie and Cat sat together in the seating area of the Black Box theatre with their fellow cast members sat around them (their friends, and the rest of the audience, had long since departed to focus on their own performances that were still to come).

"Next week I'll just be at home but after that mom and I are heading to Boston to see some family," the tech producer volunteered. "We'll be there for a week or so and then spend another week and a half back in Seattle before heading back to LA late next month."

"Excellent; Cat?"

"Well uh, we have to take my brother to his 'special hospital'," the red-head began, "then mom, dad and I are going to Cancun for a couple of weeks." She turned to Freddie, "Hey! Maybe we can all hang at the beach when we all get back?"

"Sure," he agreed with a warm smile.

The pair spent the final couple of days supporting their friends; Cat impressed everyone when singing alongside Jade to the songs André had written for his recital; the mean girl also impressed the crowds with her vocal talents. Freddie, meanwhile, helped to ensure that Beck's play went smoothly; the long-haired actor and his curly-haired co-star gave excellent performances in his play and he was confident of receiving good marks in it – they would find out their grades for these and also the tests they had done at some point during the summer. In the meantime they contented themselves by throwing another small party at André's house to celebrate the end of their first year at Hollywood Arts. Despite being invited Lindsey opted not to show (simply saying that she had other plans) so it was just the freshman group that sat around the songsmith's house reliving the events of the past week and discussing their plans for the summer break (most of them would be going away at various points over the summer so they made tentative plans to get together as a whole group in late August and spend a few days together either at the beach or at a mall – they would also make plans to get together in smaller groups as and when any of them were available and at a loss for something to do).

As Marissa was working this evening Freddie left when Mrs Valentine came to collect Cat; the Valentine matriarch offered him a ride back to his own home and he happily accepted. Beck and Jade decided to leave at the same time, with Robbie and Eli leaving not much later. The teenage friends said their goodbyes to one another; all of them were looking forward to having a welcome break over the summer before returning to Hollywood Arts as sophomores in the autumn.

* * *

"The Slap," Freddie said thoughtfully.

"The Slap," André said in a chilled-out tone.

"The Slap _dot com_," Robbie clarified unnecessarily.

"They know, idiot," Rex added.

"Quiet," the ventriloquist hissed.

"It's like snuggling a warm puppy," Cat said before giggling.

"It's a place to go to see more of us and find out more about us," Beck explained.

"Ugh, whatever," Jade snarked.

"Be nice," he chided, causing her to pout.

"So log on and see more clips like these," Freddie urged.

"If you _dare_!" Robbie put on a spooky voice.

"Give it up man; you're not scary," Rex berated him.

"Am too!" he shot back.

"Yeah I don't know what it's about," Cat admitted sheepishly.

* * *

**AN: And that's it for this part of the story. My thanks to everyone who has reviewed at some point; in no particular order – BushwellFanNYC, Challenge King, KoalaBear95, Agent-M, boriforever352, DramaQueenXO, Rihaan, helpwolvesandsmile, power214063, ImNotThomas, Digidestend Angel, , LittleMissMusical, ArtisticAngel6, TinyElephant99, EnchantingNightmares, Subject87, Protege16, SpazzQueen15 and Mistyflower68 – your comments and feedback have been greatly appreciated throughout.**

**I will be taking a short break from this story now, in order to avoid burn-out and to continue and complete some of my other works (namely Kindred Spirits, iHave To Move On and Freddie Goes To Hollywood over in the iCarly/Victorious cross-over section). I will pick up the tales from this universe in a few weeks' time in a new story, **_**A Place To Call Home**_**, which will again be in the Victorious section. I hope to see you all for that. Thanks again for reading and please feel free to review. PD.**


	25. Just For Fun

**AN: Welcome all to a little bonus for the story; it's something of a homage to the out-take chapter One Horse Shay did for his excellent Jade Likes Nice Guys story – if you haven't checked it out you really should do, of course you'll need to read the equally entertaining iActually Like Mean Girls first. My thanks go to Challenge King, Agent-M and Guest for their reviews of the last chapter and I hope you all like this little chance for some fun and for a bit of insight into what was going through my mind while I was putting the story together.**

* * *

"Hey Ari!" Nathan Kress greeted his co-star; she turned to him with an expression that suggested he'd caught her with her hand in the cookie jar. "Uh, what have you got there?" he pointed to a package in her hand.

"Oh," she gestured towards him with the article, "it's the blooper clips from the show; I snuck them out of Dan's office." She giggled before asking, "Want to watch them with me?"

"Sounds like fun."

The pair made their way to the dressing rooms and Ariana Grande smuggled Nathan into the one she and Elizabeth Gillies shared. She skipped over to her bag and retrieved her laptop from it before walking over to the make-up table and setting it down on a clean part of the surface. She and Nathan pulled up chairs while it booted up and she slid the DVD into its drive.

"Hmm, let's see…" the brown-haired boy began, "maybe that one to start with?" he suggested, pointing to a clip named _Freddie and Spencer_. Ariana grinned and clicked on the file, bringing up a backdrop of a down-town Seattle street.

"_Freddie!" came the call from across the street; the boy was walking back towards his aunt's place, not far from Bushwell Plaza._

"_Spencer? Hey dude, how are you?" A surprised Freddie asked before he crossed the deserted street to meet Carly's brother._

"_Great thanks, how are you?" the elder Shay then frowned. "Carly's pretty upset you know; you haven't responded to her texts or her e-mails or spoken to her since…"_

"_Since she wrecked my relationship," the former iCarly member interrupted tersely._

"_Look I don't know what went on between you two, but my sister's upset and I'd be remiss if I didn't point that out" the artist told him._

"_Well you have done, but don't expect me to see or talk to her."_

"_Oh ok," Spencer was disappointed but covered it with a shrug. "Oh hey, you want a coffee? Or better, a Gallinipie!" The tall actor garbled the last couple of words._

"_Gallinipi?" Nathan asked, amused._

"_Gallini's… pie. STOP IT!" Jerry shouted as Nathan began to laugh._

"Oh Jerry," Ariana laughed as the clip ended.

"You can always rely on him to entertain. Oh, try that one now," Nathan pointed to a file labelled _Cat, Freddie, Marissa scene_. The brunette, as she was again having washed the red dye from her hair, gave him a conspiratorial grin as she loaded up the clip. The pair watched as the Benson house's living room appeared on the screen.

_Freddie slipped his arm around Cat's shoulders and pulled the red-head closer to him on the couch. He looked towards her and smiled as she relaxed next to him. She turned towards him and he matched her move. The brown-haired boy leaned towards her and their lips met, gently at first but both were happy to slowly explore the sensation as they varied the pressure of the contact. Cat closed her eyes and allowed Freddie to take charge of the soft kisses, though she kept her mouth closed for now._

_The teens' activities were to be interrupted as Mrs Benson arrived home and walked into the living room, her eyes immediately falling on the pair kissing on her couch. The Benson matriarch let out a shriek. Ariana grinned visibly against the brown-haired boy's mouth as she moved her hands quickly to the back of his head to hold him in place and continue the kiss. Nathan had tried to pull away, as the script demanded, but mentally shrugged as his co-star "restrained" him and he relaxed back into the kiss himself._

"_Cut!" yelled the director behind the camera. "You were supposed to pull apart at the shriek."_

_Ariana pulled just far enough from Nathan to turn her head without bumping her nose into his. "But it's more fun this way," she complained in her best 'Cat' voice, causing Nathan to burst out laughing with the older actress following suit while shaking her head at the teenagers._

_Take 2: Marissa shrieked and grabbed a towel from the radiator as she spied the couple._

"_Uh," Ariana began as she pulled away from Nathan, "you're not supposed to have the towel just yet."_

_Mary palmed her face and walked out of the door, shaking her head as she did while the director called "Back to one."_

"_Now, where were we?" Nathan asked with a laugh, drawing a giggle from his co-star._

_Take 3: Mary walked into the house to be greeted by the kissing teens. "I forgot to put the towel back!" she laughed as she realised she was still holding the offending item. The teens giggled, still sat in one another's arms._

"_Thanks Mary!" Nathan called as his on-screen mother put the towel back in its place and walked out again. "Keep blowing the scene; I could do this all day." Ariana burst out laughing and swatted his chest playfully._

"That was a fun scene," Ariana reminisced, "I did enjoy doing the Freddie/Cat scenes with you."

"Me too, it's a shame the writers broke them up so quickly."

"You've had the Freddie/Lindsey scenes to do though – and some of them have been pretty intense," she reminded him.

"I know; it's hard to believe that the original script that we read through had them breaking up before Spring Break, having started to cool between them about the time Cat's relationship with Eli ended."

"I wonder why they changed it," she mused.

"I think they wanted a prom scene for some jibe that Rex is going to make to Cat in the next season," he explained, "plus it gives Freddie a chance to experience such an intense event in his life and explore how he responds to it. It was certainly a controversial turn of events – and more than a little uncomfortable to film – but I think the writers wanted to use the incident to bring in a few little Freddie/Jade bonding moments and I've been told there'll be at least one more, along with a bit more Freddie/Sam bonding early in the new season." Then he changed the subject. "Oh, try that one," he pointed to another file. Ariana loaded it up to reveal the Hollywood Arts music room.

_Lindsey made a show of having to take a long time packing up at the end of the lesson as the rest of the students left, followed by the teacher._

"_Are you alright there Lindsey?" Anthony asked her as he stood in the doorway, one hand propping the classroom door open._

"_Oh yeah, I'm good," she assured him with as innocent a smile as she could muster. He bought the act, nodded and left her alone in the room. She grinned at his departure, finished packing up and waited impatiently until a smiling brown-haired boy peered appeared at the window to the room._

_Nathan seized the handle and turned it; as he opened the door the handle came away in his hand._

"_Whoa," he exclaimed, holding the offending article towards the camera while the blonde stifled a laugh behind her hand. "Uh, can someone fix this?" he called to the staff behind the scenes. "We don't want to get stuck in here all day."_

"_Hey, speak for yourself," the actress laughed as she grinned at him._

The door to the dressing room burst open and Liz strolled confidently in. She stopped at the sight of the two as they turned to face her.

"Oh hey Liz," Ariana greeted her.

"Hey. What are you two up to?"

"Oh just watching some bloopers from the show," Nathan told her. "Care to join us?"

"Sure."

Ever the gentleman Nathan stood to offer the girl his chair; she accepted with mild surprise.

"You were saying there was going to be a Freddie/Jade moment coming soon," Ariana reminded him.

"Yes, I heard that too," Liz confirmed, "but I doubt it will be a romantic one – not now that she and Beck are exclusive."

"Not to mention the fact that she's Cat's best friend," Nathan added. "There's no way she'd make a play for Freddie knowing how Cat still feels about him."

"It's a shame really, I'd like a little more Freddie/Jade action," Liz shot a wink at the boy and he grinned back at her.

"More?" Ariana was surprised. "I'm confused," she admitted.

"Here," Liz seized the mouse and loaded another clip; this time it was set just outside the music room and the door handle was very much intact.

"_Benson," The gothic girl snarled at her quarry, cornering him outside the music room. _

"_Jade?" He was surprised at her tone; it was unusual for her to use it with him. Andr__é__ looked from one to the other before deciding that he should have no part of the conversation. He mumbled an excuse and went inside the classroom, leaving the pair alone._

"_So… you and Lindsey…" she prompted, stalking him like a cat and edging ever closer to him. "You kissing her," she prompted in response to his silence._

"_Who told you that?" Freddie asked in surprise. Jade just stared at him and he sighed. "First of all, _she_ kissed _me_. And what's it to you anyway?"_

"_What's it to me?" Jade's tone was one of amazement at his question. "_Cat is in the bathroom sobbing her eyes out_."_

"She_ broke up with _me,_" he reminded her._

"_Yeah, because of your crazy friend and psychotic mother."_

"_Yes, because of _other people,_" he countered. "Not because of me. So am I supposed to be single forever?"_

"_No but you're not supposed to make out with tenth graders like two days later! I liked you," she told him, stepping towards him, trying her best to intimidate. "I thought you were a good guy, that you'd make Cat happy – looks like I was way off."_

"_I'm not the bad guy here!" he insisted, refusing to be cowed by her. "She broke up with me," he repeated. "If it was up to me I'd still be dating her! If she wanted us to get back together tomorrow I would – and very happily. Look," he sighed, "Lindsey was upset; she'd been dumped by Ryder and he was dating someone else already. She wanted to move on as well and she kissed me. Did I like it? Yes! Did I go looking for it? No!"_

"_So you two aren't dating?"_

"_No we're not; we're just friends" he insisted._

"_Just friends?" Jade was incredulous. "Do you usually make out with your friends?"_

"_Is that an offer?" he shot back with a smirk._

_Liz closed the last foot or so between herself and Nathan, seized the boy and crashed her lips against his, much to her co-star's amazement. He stood frozen for a moment before starting to kiss her back, wrapping his arms around her and enjoying the chance for a little stage kiss with his attractive cast mate._

"_Cut!" called the director. "Liz, you're supposed to say 'Don't push me' not kiss him!"_

"_What?" the brunette turned to the director with an innocent expression on her face. "Ari said he was a good kisser; I wanted to see for myself." She turned to Nathan and whispered conspiratorially, "She was right!"_

"That was a fun blooper to do," Liz grinned as the clip ended.

"You could have warned me," Nathan complained.

"What, and take all the fun out of it?" she laughed.

"I do hope we get another on-screen romance soon," Ariana piped up, talking to Nathan as she did, "I miss those scenes."

"They were good to do," he agreed.

"Better than your first audition," Liz smirked, loading up a clip labelled _Ariana auditions_. Her dressing room-mate groaned at the memory as the Black Box theatre appeared on the screen.

_Cat stood in front of a row of desks, behind which sat what she assumed was the judging panel, a balding teacher on its left, a gap in the centre that Mr Eikner was to fill and a darker-skinned, younger man on the right._

"_Caterina," Mr Eikner began, "this is our acting teacher, Erwin Sikowitz," he gestured to the balding teacher on his right (her left) "and our school Guidance Counsellor Lane Alexander," he gestured to the others. Cat smiled weakly at the trio. "Don't be nervous; we want you to do well," the Principal continued as he smiled at the teenage girl. She nodded and tried to smile herself; her nerves, though, were still evident. "Now, what are you going to show us?" he asked, settling back in his chair._

"_I'm going to sing and also do a little acting," she told them, noticing Sikowitz sit up a little at the mention of acting._

"_Ok, in your own time," Mr Eikner invited her to begin._

"_It's an all-night party that we're getting into…" the girl began before stopping and covering her mouth with her hand. "I'm sorry, that was the wrong song."_

"_You failed your audition!" Dan called from off-camera. "Cancel the show everyone, one of the main characters isn't going to be in it."_

"Way to go, Ari, you nearly got us all fired before we even started."

"I'm sorry," she retorted in her best 'Cat' voice, "but it's not like _you're_ perfect either," she shot at her and grabbed the mouse, clicking on a clip labelled _Liz Screw-up_.

"Do NOT load that clip!" Liz warned as Nathan laughed behind them.

_"Why were you late?" Jade asked Cat after the bell had drawn an end to their own lesson; the girls, along with Beck and Robbie, were also making their way to the rec room. The red-haired girl explained about the play and how Sikowitz had wanted to talk to them about the situation and whether it would affect them. She expressed her sadness at the coolness of Freddie's attitude towards her and how much she regretted that it had come to this between them._

_"So how are you getting on with your lines?" Beck asked her._

_"I've got most of them," she told him, "but I could do with rehearsing the scenes __with__ someone to get them all down, along with my timings."_

_"How about Robbie?" Jade suggested coyly._

"_That's a GREAT idea!" Matt piped up as Liz palmed her forehead. "But you were supposed to suggest Freddie."_

"_I know!" she snapped back, causing general merriment to the rest of the group._

"How about we laugh at Leon for a bit?" Nathan hoped to relieve the little bit of tension that was threatening to bubble up between the two girls; he pointed to a file labelled _André fencing_ and Liz loaded it up.

_Freddie, Beck and André were stood in the fencing studio, dressed in their gear (hired in the case of the two Angelinos; it was their first time trying to fence after all). Freddie held his epee and began talking them through the correct stance, where to grip the sword and the basic rules._

"_Think you've got it?" he asked the songsmith._

"_I think so, let's have a go," he replied and pulled on his face guard; Freddie did likewise._

_Leon attempted to bring his blade up to complete his stance but it slipped out of his hand and clattered to the ground._

"_Sorry, my bad," he announced as Avan chuckled at the side._

"_Keep going," the director called so the dreadlocked teen bent down and picked up the weapon, only for his mask to slip a little as he did. He righted himself to find the mask at an angle so he slid it back into place._

"_Ok, I'm ready now," he called, trying to control his laughter. Nathan lazily brought his own sword round in an arc and, owing to Leon's sloppy grip, the latter's sword again found itself on the floor. This time Avan had to hop backwards to avoid it landing on his foot._

"_Dude! Careful!" he called as Nathan burst out laughing. The other two joined in a moment later._

"_Take five," Dan called in resigned defeat._

"Poor Leon," Nathan remarked with a chuckle, "It took him ages to figure out his grip and stance and everything. In the end Dan gave up on the scene and just cut it altogether."

The two girls giggled along with him. Liz recovered her poise and scanned the list as she decided which clip to watch next.

"This one looks good," she commented idly as she clicked on it, bringing up the Asphalt Café.

"_Where _is_ Robbie?" Cat asked her friends as she popped another piece of candy into her mouth._

"_There he is," Eli noted, pointing across the café to the far side. The others followed his finger and watched as the puppet-master ran across his line of sight; a group of older kids were in hot pursuit._

"_Uh, why are they all chasing him?" Freddie asked with a laugh._

"_He wrote a bad review of a play for the school paper," Jade informed him._

"_Artists are a temperamental bunch," Beck commented philosophically._

"_You'd think they'd have learned something from the Bird Scene," Freddie said thoughtfully._

"_Is that Trina Vega at the front?" Lindsey spoke up as she took a good look at the chasing group as they raced across the café again. "Oh my God, she does bite; no wonder the play sucked if they cast her in it!"_

"_Should we help him?" wondered Andr__é__._

"_No," Jade's answer was simple but her tone forceful as she returned to her burrito._

_Eventually Robbie managed to extricate himself from the incensed older students and struggled over to his friends; he was aggrieved to see the amusement on their faces, which tempered any sympathy they may have felt for him._

"_It's not funny!" he protested. "I wrote a review last week that someone hated; they _kidnapped_ me!"_

_The other cast members stared at Matt in bewilderment. "No they didn't, they kidnapped _Rex_. Sorry," he grinned and shook his head, walking off as the director called, "From the top!"_

_Take 2: _ _Eventually Robbie managed to extricate himself from the incensed older students and struggled over to his friends; he was aggrieved to see the amusement on their faces, which tempered any sympathy they may have felt for him._

"_It's not funny!" he protested. Any further lines were rendered obsolete as Ariana burst out laughing and the other teenagers at the table joined her a moment later, followed by Matt himself._

_Take 3: "It's not…" Matt began before dissolving into laughter. "Stop that," he gasped through it, directing his comment at his co-workers who had sat grinning at him as he came over._

_Take 4: Eventually Robbie managed to extricate himself from the incensed older students and struggled over to his friends; he was aggrieved to see the amusement on their faces, which tempered any sympathy they may have felt for him._

"_It's not funny!" he protested. "I wrote a review last week that someone hated; they _kidnapped_ Rex and wouldn't give him back until I wrote a good one." Hearing their laughter intensify he complained, "They started pinning body parts from him to my locker; a hand, a… no – DAMN IT!" The table instantly lapsed back into laughter. "I finally get through the start of it and screw it up later on," he lamented._

"So, what's in store for the new season?" Ariana asked as the clip ended.

"Well, we find out more about how Freddie feels about Lindsey seducing him," Nathan began, "and a little about his feelings on their relationship in general going forward. I also heard there's going to be a new character brought in at some point."

"Oh yeah, Victoria Justice is going to play her," Liz chimed in.

"She's hot," Nathan sighed without thinking.

"Hotter than me?" Ariana asked with a little smile, causing her co-star to look distinctly uncomfortable.

"Yeah Nathan, who's hotter; me, Ari or Victoria?" Liz challenged wickedly.

The boy looked from one to the other for a couple of seconds before he turned and ran from the room. Liz smirked after him.

"You want to watch some more bloopers?" she asked.

"'kay 'kay," Ariana agreed.

"Let's try… a couple of Nathan's," the taller girl smiled as she called them up. Again the setting was the Asphalt Café.

"_Hey, we were all checking out the rec room just now; come and see what they've just added," Jade called to Cat and Freddie who were sat at a table._

_The two teens followed their brunette friend as she led the way to the rec room. _

"_I wonder how they grow lobster potatoes" the red-head piped up suddenly, causing her two friends to look at her. _

"_They don't grow them Cat," Jade growled impatiently. _

_Freddie saw his new crush's face fall so he quickly suggested "Maybe they could genic… gener… hum huh flah!" Nathan babbled as he stumbled over his line. He laughed along with the two girls as they carried on walking._

_Freddie and Cat_ _made their way inside the school from the Asphalt Café. No sooner had they done so than Cat's eyes were drawn to a poster. She stopped abruptly and this caused Freddie to backtrack a couple of steps to see what had caught his friend's attention_.

_The two teens read through the poster for the forthcoming play. _

"_What do you think?" Cat asked Freddie as they read the poster together. "Wanna audition for it?"_

"_I _would_ but… we're freshmen Cat; they're not going to cast me above one of the senior guys here for a major role."_

"_Ninth graders!" called Dan from somewhere behind the camera. Nathan palmed his forehead and uttered an apology._

_Take 2: "What do you think?" Cat asked Freddie as they read the poster together. "Wanna audition for it?"_

"_I _would_ but… we're freshmen Cat; they're …"_

"_Ninth graders!" Dan interrupted loudly._

"_Gah! Again!" Nathan stood up and walked a short circle to clear his head._

_Take 3: "What do you think?" Cat asked Freddie as they read the poster together. "Wanna audition for it?"_

"_I _would_ but… we're freshmen… NINTH GRADERS!" he corrected himself loudly with a shake of his head._

_Freddie was leaving the fencing studio, walking straight into the group's ambush as he did. Two of them seized his arms and slammed him roughly against the wall of the studio; he dropped his bags as they did._

"_Ow, dude!" Nathan complained._

"_Sorry man, are you ok?" the extra asked, he and the boy on Nathan's other side both released their captive and the two watched in slight concern as he rubbed his left shoulder._

"_It's ok, I'm good," he reassured him._

A knock on the dressing room door brought the girls from their activity.

"Anyone in there?" Dan's voice called.

Liz walked to the door and opened it enough to look at the show's creator. "What's up?" she asked as Ariana appeared at her elbow.

"Have either of you girls seen the show's blooper reel? I can't find it in my office."

"Uh no," Ari denied.

"I think I saw Nathan with it," Liz noted slyly.

"That tears it, I'm gonna make him suffer next season!" Dan snarled as he turned and left the room. The two girls looked uncomfortably at one another before Liz shrugged.

"Let's watch a few more clips."

The girls took their chairs again and returned their attention to the laptop and blooper clips.

* * *

**AN: That really is the end of iSwitch Schools. I hope you enjoyed a bit of light-hearted entertainment and a glimpse into some of the thought process and rewrites that went into the story. Stay tuned for **_**A Place To Call Home**_**, coming soon to the Victorious archive.**


End file.
